Escaping the Nehan
by Petrina Van Jay
Summary: I stand in horror as I stare down at his eyes. His dead grey eyes, which were once filled with determination, are now empty. I collapse next to his head, whimpers escaping my lips. I scream. Why? Why is this happening to us? I just wanted to have a fun time with my friends. But, now we're lost, trapped in this hell. Now, we're all going to die.
1. Chapter 01

Hello, readers. This is my first story ever so all reviews and constructive criticism are welcomed.

Disclaimer: I do not own Corpse Party.

And now please enjoy

 **Escaping the Nehan**

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Chapter 01

I stand in horror as I stare down at his eyes. His dead grey eyes, which were once filled with determination, are now empty. I collapse next to his head, whimpers escaping my lips. I scream. Why? Why is this happening to us? I just wanted to have a fun time with my friends. But, now we're lost, trapped in this hell. Now, we're all going to die.

It all started at the end of school…. A flood of people rushed out the entrance. Conversations wafted toward me. I looked around the mass crowd. I had planned out a little hang out with all my friends. _Jeez, where are they?_ I scanned the people again. The wind blew now, making my flaming mane of curls wave crazily. I sighed ignoring it. I've had sixteen years of getting used to my curly hair.

"Briella!"

I turned around to see one of my friends.

"Erin!" I called out.

As we closed the distance between us, I stood on my tip toes to give him a sweet peck on the lips. Erin Lauren and I have been dating for about six months now. We've known each longer than that though. We met in third grade and have been best friends ever since. Of course, now we're closer than friends.

"Have you seen the others?" I asked.

"No. I thought they'd be with you," Erin answered.

"Oh," I pouted, "they're supposed to be here. Did they forget about our plans?"

"I'm sure we can find them. Lenny and Joel might be at the basketball court."

"Yeah, let's go check."

We walked around the back to the basketball courts. Sure enough, we found the two boys.

"They're getting better," Erin noticed.

"For someone who's short, Joel is pretty good," I commented.

Erin chuckled, "I agree. Just don't let him hear you call him short."

"But it's true!"

That got him laughing. Lenny Higgins and Joel Kim are best friends. And I meant best friends. They've been best friends since kindergarten. I've never seen one without the other. Honestly, they're inseparable. I met them at middle school and we became good friends. Lenny is pretty popular for his extremely good humor. He always knows how to make a person laugh. Although, he does have a um… foul mouth, especially when he gets excited or scared. Joel is a lot like Lenny, funny and all, but a little more serious. He is shorter than most guys. About five foot one, I think. Everyone likes to tease him about it. His reactions are always hilarious.

"Hey! Lenny! Joel!" Erin yelled.

Both boys turned to see us.

"Yo, what's up!" Lenny greeted.

"Hey!" Joel waved.

We walked over to them. "Did you guys forget about our plans?" I reminded them.

"No, we just wanted to cool off a little with a game," Lenny confessed.

"Want to play?" Joel invited with a smile.

"No, I'm fine." "I'm good." Erin and I answered at the same time.

"Well, we have to go find Marie and Shelley," Erin said.

"They're not with you guys?" Joel asked.

I looked between the two boys, "Nope, that's why we need you two to help us."

"Okay. I need to stop by my locker though. Need to get my sweatshirt," Lenny explained.

I smiled, "Fine by me!"

We went together to the entrance of the school.

"Oh, hey Briella! Where are we going?" Joel asked.

"Well, I didn't really plan out anything too complicated. That's for winter break. So, we're just going to Starbucks then the mall."

"Oh. My. God. Starbucks! No way!" Lenny said sarcastically.

"I know right!" Joel joined with an equally sarcastic voice.

"Oh, my God. Girlfriend. We should like totally go to Starbucks and like buy everything," Lenny imitated a valley girl accent.

"I like totally agree," Joel copied his best friend while he twirled invisible hair.

"I know right! I have the best ideas ever."

"Oh, my God Britney. My brain just like totally exploded. What if we went to Starbucks AND Chipotle."

"Oh. My. God. Stacy. That is THE BEST idea ever."

"Of course it is."

"You know that's actually a really good idea," I cutted in.

"Oh my God!" Both boys shouted.

By now Erin was laughing so hard he was gasping.

"We were kidding!" Joel screeched.

"Still a good idea."

"I can't believe you. Are you serious?" Lenny asked.

"Dead serious."

We entered the school building.

"Okay, we'll go to our lockers, get some things, and put away some stuff then meet you up at the front," Lenny said as he and Joel walked toward their lockers.

"And help us find Marie and Shelley!" I called out.

"Got it!" Joel gave me a thumbs up.

I smiled, "Those two."

Erin chuckled, "Always laughing and joking around," he thought for a moment, "Do you want to put away our backpacks? We might as well since we're here."

"Sure."

We both went to our lockers.

I wondered aloud, "Is it going to rain?" Dark grey clouds had started to cover the sky. It was worrying me a little.

"I'm sure it won't," Erin assured.

"Hhm… okay."

I took out my jacket just in case then put my backpack in my locker.

Once I closed my locker I looked over my shoulder. Across the hallway I saw a familiar black ponytail swing back and forth, it's owner going around the corner.

"Hey! Wait up!" I shouted. I ran to catch up to the person.

"Briella!" Erin followed.

Huffing and puffing, I reached the corner.

"Briella? Where have you've been? I've been looking for you. And why do you look like you just ran a marathon?" The girl looked up and down at me with her hazel eyes.

I puffed, "I, oh I got to work out more."

"Marie. Oh, it's you. We've been looking for you," Erin greeted our friend.

"How, are you not, tired?" I huffed out.

"You're right. You got to work out," Marie patted my back. "We're still hanging out, right?"

"Yup," answered Erin.

"Okay, let's go."

Marie walked away. Erin followed while I groaned and walked behind.

Marie Francis is considered the most cynical and sarcastic person in our class. I mean, sure she can be harsh sometimes and she can be really blunt, but she's super nice once you get to know her.

Marie looked at us, "Where's everyone else?"

"Lenny and Joel went to put their things away. We're still looking for Shelley," Erin told her.

She nodded, then glanced back at me. "Seriously, Briella. What happened?"

"Nothing. I just ran across the hall to catch up to you," I wheezed out.

"You really need to start working out," Marie muttered.

"I know."

We reached the front doors. A girl with straight black hair and a brown backpack was just leaving.

"Hey, Shelley! Where are you going?!" I called out.

The girl turned around, the kind and gentle smile playing on her lips.

Shelley Cooper was the nicest girl in our class. Her gentle and kind smile always eased people. She would be really popular for that and her looks, if people didn't think she was weird. At random times she would stare at nothing without even blinking. She was even caught talking to herself. But, she's still really nice and caring. I couldn't resist but to become friends with her.

Shelley smiled, "Hi, Briella, Marie, and Erin."

Erin and Marie greeted her.

"Are you going somewhere? We're about to go now," I said.

A confused look crossed her face. "Going where?"

"Don't tell me you forgot," I whined, "Our hang out."

Shelley gasped, "Oh no! That's today? I totally forgot. I'm so sorry."

I giggled, "That's okay. You can put your backpack away."

"We're waiting for Lenny and Joel anyway," Erin added.

"Oh, but," She hesitated.

"But?" I asked when she paused.

"But, I promised my little brother I would help him with his homework today," She sighed, a worried look replacing her confusion, "Although, I could just call him and tell him I'll be a little late."

"A little? You might as well just tell him you'll be out for two hours or something. Not a little while," Marie told her.

"Yeah, you're right. I'll be right back," Shelley stepped outside taking out her phone.

I turned to Marie and Erin. "Well, now we're just waiting for Joel and Lenny. Again."

"No need for waiting," Lenny and Joel walked toward us from the right hallway. When they were near us they both posed, fist on their hips and backs against each other.

"The kings have arrived," Joel announced.

"Kings of stupidity," Marie countered.

Erin and I snorted.

"Oh, that's cruel," Lenny said.

Shelley stepped back inside, "Okay, I called him."

"Great," I smiled, "Do you want to put away your backpack, Shelley?"

"No, I'm fine."

"Well, okay. If you say so. Okay, looks like everyone's here. Let's go!"

"Oh my God," Lenny started.

"It's Starbucks and Chipotle time!" both Lenny and Joel screamed.

Our laughter buzzed in my ears as we set out for a great time.

Two hours later it started to rain. We all had to run back to school so we weren't completely drenched. It also helped that Marie, Shelley, and Joel had brought their umbrellas. By the time we got back to school, I was panting.

"Jeez, Briella. It was only a few blocks," Joel stated.

"Just a few blocks?!" I said in between pants.

Erin chuckled, "Come on, Briella. It wasn't that far."

"Easy for you to say! You're a track star!"

"I wouldn't say I'm a track star."

"Says the guy who won four medals in the state competitions," Marie muttered.

"Um, guys," Shelley smiled apologetically, "I kinda have to go home now. They don't like it when I'm out too late."

"Wait!" I said before she can go. "I have a surprise for all of you. Meet me near the staircase."

I ran toward my locker, leaving my friends standing there puzzled. I grabbed my backpack and the bag holding my "surprise." Once I had everything in my grasp I ran to the staircase, passing Erin heading to his locker.

"Don't leave yet!" I yelled over my shoulder as we crossed paths.

I pulled out my essential little details near the stairs. While none of my friends were here, I hurriedly prepared the "surprise". A set of footsteps came closer. I smiled to myself. _This is going to be good._

"What are you doing?" Joel asked cautiously.

A set of white little candles stood together right next to the stairs. I wanted to bring the mood so I brought some candles. The lights were off in this area and the clouds helped it appear darker. The rain pattered on the windows. It felt eerie and that's just what I wanted. I smiled at them.

"Oh no, what are you planning?" he griped.

Shelley stood next to Joel. "I should have gone home."

A head popped up behind them. Lenny took a look around. Then walked away.

"Lenny!" I cried after him. I jogged to him as he power walked away from the staircase. Joel and Shelley stayed where they were, uncertain looks on their faces. We passed Marie and Erin as I continued to go after him.

"Hey! Lenny! Come on!" I said when I'm right behind him.

He turned around to face me. "I am not doing anything scary. You know I don't like scary things, Briella. You know I don't!"

I roll my eyes. "It's not scary."

He stared at me, not looking convinced at all.

"It's not!" I sighed, "Just get back over there!"

He rose his hands in the air. "Okay! Damn! No need to get snappy."

We walked back together, Lenny muttering the whole time. Everyone else was there talking quietly to each other. When we got back all conversation stopped.

"What're we doing?" Marie asked curiously.

I smiled widely and took it out, a cut out paper doll. "This here, is called 'The Sachiko Ever After'. It's a charm I found on the internet. We each say, "Sachiko, we beg of you," six times. One for each participant. Then we grab a hold of this doll and pull on it until it rips into six equal parts. It's supposed to symbolize how one group of friends will always stay best friends forever, or something like that."

"You do know that if you do some charms incorrectly you can become cursed?" Shelley mentioned.

"Hold up, what?" Lenny looked at Shelley with wide eyes.

"Briella, is there any curses associated with the charm?" Erin asked.

I stayed silent.

"Briella, why aren't you answering?" Lenny squeaked.

"Well…" I drawled.

Marie sighed, "Oh no."

"There might have been something about being spirited away to a haunted school, BUT…"

"Oh my God," Lenny said before I could continue.

"But it's just a rumor. Curses aren't actually real," I continued.

"You know what. Fuck this," Lenny turned around and started walking away.

"Lenny!"

He didn't look back.

"Lenny!"

He still didn't turn around. I went after him.

"Lenny, come on! It's just a rumor."

He finally turned around. "Just a rumor? What if it's real? What if we all end up going to a haunted school and dying the most gruesome deaths?! Man, I do not want to die now! And I DO NOT want to be spirited away to some haunted creepy school. Naw aw. No, thank you."

"Lenny, it's not real. I mean, how could people now about the charm being cursed if they haven't been to the school. I mean, I highly doubt anyone would actually survive a haunted school. Plus, the directions are easy. All you have to do is do the charm correctly."

Lenny stared at me, doubt gleaned his eyes.

He groaned, "Fine."

We both walked back to our group. Lenny stood in between Joel and Marie, his back slouched.

"No one fuck this up," He said pointing a finger to everyone.

"I don't know about this, Briella," Shelley hesitantly said.

"Yeah, seems kinda sketchy to me," Marie agreed.

"Come on, guys. Please," I begged.

I held out the doll, waiting for them to join. Erin grabbed the left arm. I smiled gratefully at him. Joel took the middle while Marie took the right arm. Expecting them to take the doll, I looked over at Lenny and Shelley. Lenny reluctantly seized the right leg.

"I swear by God, if we get stuck in some kind of haunted place, you are not going to hear the end of this," Lenny warned.

I giggled. I stared at Shelley.

She had her hands clasped in front of her. "I really don't think this is a good idea, guys."

Our eyes meet. Her eyes were black as midnight. Mine a green forest. I'm sure it reflected my excitement. Oh, how I wish I could take back what I said. What I did.

"It's just a charm. What could happen?" I said.

"Bruh!" Joel and Lenny shouted simultaneously.  
"Do you know what you just did?!" Lenny gaped at me.

"You just jinxed it!" Joel answered.

"What?" Marie asked.

"Everyone knows something always happens after someone says that," Lenny explained. He looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

"Oh, would you two babies calm down," Marie snapped.

"Calm down. I will not-"

"Shh," Erin hushed.

I looked back at Shelley, silently begging her to do it. I wanted to have a fun time with my friends. That's all I wanted.

With hesitance in her eyes, she took the left leg. I squealed and smiled at her. I would have hugged her, but I was holding the head.

"Thank you guys. This really means a lot," I told them.

I looked around at my group of friends. They all smiled back at me. They were my friends. They always had my back.

"You guys remember how to do it?" I asked.

They all nodded, muttered, or said yes.

"Okay." I took a deep breath. "Ready, set, go."

Careful not to stumble, I silently said the words in my head. I looked up when I was done.

"You guys done?"

They all nodded.

"Okay. On the count of three, we'll all pull on the doll. One. Two. Three!"

We pulled on the doll. The sound of tearing paper echoed in the empty opening. I waited, as if I expected something to pop out of the darkness. Few seconds passed by, none of us saying anything. Nothing happened.

I laughed nervously. "See, nothing. Now you can relax, Lenny."

"Oh, thank God. Just so you know," Lenny addressed me, "I am not doing that ever again. Or anything like that."

Joel laughed and bumped his elbow to Shelley. "I think you should stop playing those horror games for a while."

He laughed again as Shelley's pale face turned red.

"Well, I have to go. Still have to finish that project." Marie waves at us and is about to exit the staircase area. Then…

The floor jerked. "Huh? Did you feel that?" I asked.

Before anyone could answer it started to move. I fell off my feet with a yelp. The vases of flowers on the shelves started to fall off. Glass shattered as the earth continued to shake. I knew exactly what this was.

"EARTHQUAKE!" Joel screeched.

I screamed as another vase toppled over, almost hitting me. Erin grabbed my hand and dragged me up the stairs. "Everyone! Over here!" Erin shouted over the crashes. A crack was the only warning we got before the window above us broke. Marie and I shrieked as glass showered us. Lenny and Joel got Marie and Shelley and lead them to the stairs. Another window broke and the glass showered us once again. Marie and I screamed while Shelley trembled in fear as the boys covered us from the falling glass.

"This, this is really big!" Lenny yelled.

The stairs were shaking violently, practically throwing us around. We held the railings for dear life. The floors creaked. A crack appeared on the floor. It slowly grew longer making it's way across the floor.

"That can't be good." Marie said over the rumbling and crashing. The crack stopped growing. I tried to steady my breath. A loud creaking noise boomed from under us. And then, there was no floor, no stairs holding us. Underneath us was blackness, emptiness, nothing.

"Ah- AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

We all fell. Into the unknown darkness, unsure where it would lead us. I watched as Lenny and Joel fell in front of me, struggling to find something to grab. I heard Marie and Shelley's screams from behind. I involuntarily reached for Erin. I strained for his hand, while he did the same. My fingers were hurting me. _What was happening? What's going on?_ I felt Erin's hand wrapped around mine. The world turned black. There was nothing. Just darkness.


	2. Chapter 02

Chapter 02

Cold air surrounded me. The wind blew making my hair cover my face. Rain pounded my window. I shifted on my bed, but, something felt wrong. Too tired to question it, I ignored it. A cold drift ran over my skin. I shivered and reached for my blanket. My hands felt for the warm blanket, but was unable to find it. Reluctantly, I opened my eyes. That's when I realized, I wasn't home.

"Ah!" I jumped up from where I was laying. The floorboards creaked under my foot. The smell of rot wafted in the air. I was in a long hallway, a window just right next to me. I looked outside. Trees spanned out farther than the eye can see. Rain dropped in showers hitting the window with a plink. I backed away.

"Where...Where am I?" I steadied myself on the railing of the stairs. It was old and moldy, nothing like the white and clean stairs of Kimberg High. I walked towards the window again and accidentally stepped on something. I shrieked.

"Ow!" Erin groaned as he sat up. He yawned and stretched, rubbing his hand where I had stepped on it.

"Erin!" I hugged him tightly. "Oh, thank God."

He wrapped his arms around me and rubbed my back gently.

"Sorry, about stepping on you."

"It's okay." He said, sleepily. Then, I felt his body stiffen. "Where are we?" Erin whispered.

"I don't know." I took his hand in mine, trying to comfort him.

"Do you remember what happened?"

He stayed silent for a while. "We were all hanging out in the mall. Um…" He stopped there.

"It started raining, so we went back to school," I continued, "After that?"

"The charm. We did the charm."

"The charm?" My mind felt foggy, like I had been sleeping for a very long time. Then it clicked. "Right the charm! And then there was an earthquake."

"And then the floor opened up."

We both looked at each other. This was impossible. I broke eye contact and looked around. I felt panic start to suffocate me.

"Oh my God. This, this can't be happening! I mean, there's no such thing as ghosts and curses and haunted schools. And we did the charm correctly! What, what…"

"Okay, Briella. Calm down. Maybe we fell from the first floor?" His voice was clouded with uncertainty. It was obvious he didn't believe that.

"Yeah, okay." He took my hand and we both headed up the stairs. It creaked beneath us. I had a feeling that if we weren't careful, it would collapse.

We both stared silently at the long dark hallway in front of us. No lights came from the light bulbs we were so accustomed too. The only light was the small beams of moonlight coming from the windows and that didn't help much. This wasn't the clean and pristine school I knew. It's neat and tidy classrooms with clear hallways were highly different from the gritty and smelly hallway we now stood on. Tears were starting to form behind my eyes. My whole body was shaking.

Erin put both his hands on my shoulder, a strand of light brown hair fell on his face. "Briella, I'm sure there's a reason we're here. So, don't worry. We'll be okay."

"How do you know?" I asked sniffling.

"Because I won't let anything happen to you."

I gazed into his eyes. He was so sweet and kind. He was always looking out for me even when we were little.

I smiled at him. "Thanks."

He smiled back and wrapped his arms around me. I accepted his hug. We stayed like that for a while just enjoying the contact and the support we gave each other. Then I thought came to me. I gasped. "Wait. What if the others are here?"

Erin's eyes widened. "You're right. They might be in here." He paused and looked around. The air was almost unbreathable with its stench.

"We have to find them."

I nodded and took his hand, comfort spreading from his fingertips. "Let's go find them."

* * *

Hello everyone! Thank you for reading my story! This chapter is a lot shorter than the first, but I promise the next chapters will be longer. I will be updating this story every Saturday or Sunday. So be on the look out for new chapters! Hoped you have enjoyed the story so far! :)

- _P.V.J_


	3. Chapter 03

Chapter 03

We wandered the hallway. The floor was so old, Erin and I had to watch exactly where we stepped otherwise we threatened the chance of falling to the first floor. And that wouldn't be good. I don't know how high up we were but I knew for sure we either would break lots of our bones or die. We continued to walk forward. Every time the wind blew or a rat ran across the floor I would jump. Erin would then squeeze my hand, ensuring me it wasn't anything scary.

Finally we reached a room.

"Think it's open?" I asked.

"Only one way to find out." Erin opened the door. We both entered.

I started coughing. "It's really dusty in here."

Erin nodded as he surveyed the room. Little light came from the windows. There were a few shelves against the wall holding books. Small desks littered the room. It was a mess.

Erin walked to one of the desks. "How come the desks are so small?"

It was small, almost like an elementary school desk. "Where exactly are we?" I whispered.

Erin didn't answer. He took a deep breath. "Don't worry about it. Let's just find the rest of them then get out of here."

His voice held a determined tint to it. I smiled to myself. He was so heroic, putting the well beings of others before his. And so kind. He was just perfect.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Erin pointed at the darkness. There was something big on the ground next to one of the book shelves. The dark obscured the object.

"Should we check it out?" he asked.

"Yeah, sure."

We both approached the object. I started to cough more. As we got closer the air got thicker with an awful smell.

"God, what is that smell?" Erin asked.

I plugged my nose, trying hard not to gag. Erin sucked in a breath and kneeled to see the object. Squinting his eyes, he tried to see what it was. He turned around and heaved. I can tell he was seconds away from puking.

I rubbed his back gently. "Are you okay?"

He took a few deep breaths, steadying himself. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. The stench just took me by surprise."

"Do you have an idea what it might be?"

"Not a clue."

"Is that thing the one that smells?"

"I really don't want to find out," His eyebrows furrowed. I waited for him to finish thinking. "Step back a bit, Briella."

I did as he said. He tugged on the object and dragged it out to the light. I didn't know what I was expecting, a piece of wood, maybe a coat hanger. I just knew I wasn't expecting this. The body slopped on the floor faced up. Skin was peeling off it. Its leg was torn enough to see the decaying muscle underneath. An eye was missing and scratches were on its face. Its mouth was opened, as if screaming for mercy.

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" We both screamed at the top of our lungs.

Erin trips over his feet almost falling over.

"What, what?!" I immediately started to hyperventilate.

"Briella. Briella! Deep breaths. Just take deep breaths."

I listened to him, but my breaths were still coming in fast. Black spots started to appear by the sides of my vision. I felt like I was choking, but I couldn't stop.

"Briella!" Erin leaned forward so his face was inches away from mine. "Breath, Briella! Forget about it. I'm right here. I won't let anything happen to you. Just take a deep breath."

He sucked in a breath. I copied him. We both repeated these actions. Soon the black spots were gone and I was breathing close to normal. I slowly backed away from the body, shaking and crying.

A sob escaped my lips, "Where are we? Erin, I'm scared."

"Hey, it'll be alright. I won't leave you alone."

He leans in, pressing his lips to mine. I kissed him back, enjoying the pressure between us. We stopped, our foreheads touching. We stayed like that for a while, the both of us calming our beating hearts.

Erin smiles shyly, "Think we can look for a bathroom?"

"You need to go?" I asked.

"No, I need to wash my hands."

Now that he mentioned it he didn't touch me the whole time. I looked down to see his hands. His hands were covered with blood and little pieces of skin from the corpse he touched. I had to look away to keep from throwing up.

"Is it that bad?" He asked scrunching his nose.

I nodded. "Don't worry. We'll find a bathroom."

My hand naturally reached out for his. He jerked his hand away and laughed.

"Don't want any of that on you, do we?"

"Nope."

We walked to the door, Erin stiff and me shaking. We were careful not to look back.

* * *

Hey guys! Here's chapter 03. Hopefully you all are enjoying yourself so far. I'll be posting every Saturday or Sunday, so watch out for the next chapters! :)


	4. Chapter 04

Chapter 04

After checking the second floor we went upstairs. Luckily, we found them. The bathrooms were at the very end of the hallway. It smelled horrible, something you expected from a boys' bathroom. But, the stench was different, almost moldy.

"Okay, Briella. Stay here. I'll just quickly wash my hands." Erin said.

"What?! No! I'll go with you." The fear of being alone even for a second was intimidating.

"Don't worry. I'll be quick. And you're just right outside."

"But…"

"Briella, don't worry. I'm right here. I'll just be on the other side of the door."

I didn't want him to go, even if he was just behind a door.

"I'll be quick." He smiles softly then walks into the men's bathroom.

I sighed. Tears were threatening to spill over. With my back against the wall, I let my body slide down to the floor. I hugged my legs to my chest. Lightning flashed outside, giving a split second of light before it disappeared. Everything about this place was unsettling. I mean, we just saw a real corpse. A real honest to god corpse! What was going on? What was this place? How did we even get here? Is this just some kind of nightmare? Oh, please just let this be a nightmare. And if not... I hoped everyone else wasn't here too. If they are, we'll find an exit. We'll all escape. Right?

Erin exited the bathroom, his hands still bloody. He looked slightly annoyed too.

I got up and pushed the dark thoughts away. "What happened?"

"None of the sinks work." He answered.

"None of them?"

He shook his head. "It only spurted out this murky brown liquid."

"Ew. Maybe there's another bathroom downstairs?"

"Yeah, hopefully. It feels so weird."

I wince in sympathy.

"We should also look for an exit while we're at it." Erin continues.

"Okay. If worse comes to worse we can try breaking a window."

Erin's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"Not that I think we would need to," I added, "Wait! I just had a great idea. What if we break one of the windows so you can clean your hands. It's raining so hard, I'm sure it would wash away the blood."

"Well, alright. As long as I get this off."

I wasted no time. I went to the nearest window and tried to open it. I tugged on it. Then I pulled. Then I was pulling with all my might. But no matter what the window wouldn't budge.

"Here." Erin took my place and started tugging on the window. He tugged and pulled but it still wouldn't move.

"Why don't we both try together?" I suggested.

He nodded. We both positioned ourselves.

"Okay. On the count of three." Erin instructed.

"One. Two. Three." We both pulled with everything we got. Nothing happened. Shifting so I had a better grip, I accidently bump into Erin. He fell taking me down with him. I was on top of him looking into his dreamy eyes. He was blushing madly, the red tint slowly spreading from his cheeks to the rest of his face.

"Sorry." Quickly, I got off him and offered him my hand which he grabbed.

"O..okay. Um, we better continue looking for an exit." He was looking away, trying in vain to hide the red shade. I giggled.

"What's with the windows," he continued, "It's like they're glued or something?"

"Maybe rusted from old age?"

"Yeah, maybe. Let's go downstairs. We might have better luck." Erin proposed.

"Okay."

* * *

Hey everyone! :) Sorry for the late post. I had a problem with the file, so it wouldn't upload correctly. But here is the newest chapter of Escaping the Nehan. Again, sorry for the short chapter. But I promise next chapter will be exciting. Keep an eye out for it!

- _Petrina Van Jay_


	5. Chapter 05

Chapter 05

*Marie POV

It was silent, which wasn't really surprising. It was always quiet in my house. But there was something different. It was just silence. No chirps from the crickets, no wind. Nothing. I relaxed and let my mind rest. No point in worrying about it. Then I felt it. _Drip._ In my sleep, I scrunched my eyebrows but ignored it. _Drip._ Whatever was dripping landed on my cheek. I involuntarily wiped it away. _Drip._ It landed on my lips. I mentally sighed. Quiet nights like this never lasted. I didn't open my eyes yet. I ran my tongue on the droplet. I expected the bland taste of water, but was meet with something else. It tasted salty almost metallic. Another droplet landed on my cheek. Annoyed, I wiped it away. I opened my eyes. And shoot up so quickly for a few seconds I only saw white spots.

"Oh. My. God." I whispered.

I wasn't at home. I laid on the floor of a room. It was dark and musty, the odor of decay drifted in the air. I looked around, trying to see through the dingy room. There were two beds by the corner, a few shelves and maybe a poster or two. A desk stood cluttered and messy. A small window let in little light. It was hard to breath. This room felt...wrong. Just wrong.

Another drop landed on me, this time on my hand. I brought my hand up so I can properly see what it was. The red droplet slowly rolled down my hand to the floor. It left a faint streak on my hand. I turn the same hand over to see my finger, stained with the red substance.

"What the?"

I felt like there was a stone in my throat. I took even breaths to calm my thumping heart.

Something moved in the corner of my eyes. I whipped around. I sighed in relief. Joel and Lenny slept soundly, snoring softly. I stood up and walked to where they laid. Lenny's arm was around Joel's midsection. Joel was curled up to Lenny, hiding his face on his chest. I snorted, trying really hard not to laugh. I might have been able to hold in my laughter, but I sure couldn't hold back this. I took out my phone. It was so dark I wasn't a hundred percent sure if I would be able to get a good picture. But I couldn't let the opportunity go. I set my camera on flash and took the picture. I stifled my laughter with my arms.

 _Bang!_ I spun around. Everything was quiet. The feeling of anxiety returned. I turned to the boys. I needed to wake them up.

Kneeling down in front of him, I started to shake Lenny. "Lenny. Lenny wake up."

He muttered something incomprehensible and shifted.

I growled and moved on to Joel. "Joel. Joel, come on, wake up."

He whined and then started speaking another language. I paused to listen to his Japanese. "Oh, mom. It's early. Just five more minutes."

I snorted. I knew he was half Japanese half Korean so I wasn't really surprised he knew Japanese. Wondered if he knew Korean too?

I sighed, shaking both of them with all my might. "Come on. Wake up!"

"Leave me alone Fanny." Lenny muttered, annoyed.

I narrowed my eyes. "Fanny? Whatever."

Joel whined and yawned. "Jeez, mom. I thought you'd give me five more minutes."

Joel rubbed his eyes and looked up at me. I crossed my arms.

"Huh, Marie what are you doing in my room?" He asked groggily.

I rolled my eyes and got up. I didn't have the patience to deal with those two. At least, not right now. Leaving him alone to wake up, I started to inspect the room. If those two Sleeping Beauties wanted to sleep, they can go ahead.

"Huh? Wait, this isn't my room." Joel murmured.

"No kidding."

"Wait, where are we, Marie?"

"I have no idea. Mind if you wake up the other Sleeping Beauty? We need to find out where we are."

Joel didn't answer, but by Lenny's grumbles I knew he was shaking Lenny.

"Dude. Wake up."

I stopped looking around, it was too dark really. I waited for Lenny to wake up.

"Come on! Get your lazy butt up!"

"Leave me alone, Joel." Lenny mumbled. He rolled around, giving his back to Joel.

Joel went close to Lenny's ear. "Lenny!"

"Damn, Joel! WHAT?!"

"What do you mean, 'What'?"

"Can't you see I'm trying to sleep in pea-" Lenny stoppped mid-sentence finally noticing our unfamiliar surroundings.

"What? Where the hell are we?" Lenny panicked.

"No idea. Marie?"

"Marie? Wait she's here?"

I cleared my throat. He faced me. "Oh, hey Marie. Why is it so dark? And why does it feel so weird here?" His voice was trembling.

Great, I got stuck with Mr. Scaredy Cat. I needed to act calm and collected. I just knew these two wouldn't last long if I didn't.

"Why are you asking me? I don't know. Just, why don't you guys look around and see if you can find a clue or something?"

"Yeah, that's a good idea." Joel said.

Both stood up and started to look near the wall opposite me. I looked around the desk. There was dozens of different things on it. But what caught my attention was the small book that seemed to be on the center. I tried to open it, but for some reason the book was shut tight. I groaned to myself. What was going on?

"Did you feel that?" Joel asked. I glanced at him.

"Yeah." Lenny nodded.

"Huh, what is that?"

"It's like something's dripping."

I froze. I forgot about the drips.

"Hey, Marie. Do you have some kind of flashlight or something?" Joel asked.

I stared at him. "Why would I have a flashlight?"

"I'm just asking."

I sighed and walked to where they stood. Another droplet fell on the ground, staining the floor.

"Why don't you just use your phone?" I suggested.

Joel took out his phone and set it to flashlight. He aimed the flashlight towards the ceiling.

"AAAAHHHHH!" We all screamed. We ran a couple of steps back, away from _it_. Joel dropped his phone. Unfortunately, his phone landed screen downward, making the flashlight shine upward. The flashlight allowed us to see the source of the drips. Another drop of blood landed on the floor. A body was nailed on the roof, On The Roof, of the room. The blood dripped out from it's forehead where a nail punctured its brain. It's hands, feet, and stomach were nailed too, I'm guessing to keep it from falling. The stone was back in my throat.

"Dude. Dude! Okay, breath!"

I didn't notice Lenny gasping to breath. Joel grabbed his phone and turned off the flashlight. The darkness returned and obscured the corpse.

"Where, Where the hell are we?!" Lenny screamed.

"Look, dude calm down." Joel soothed.

"Calm down. Calm down! There's a fucking corpse in here! A fucking corpse!"

"Maybe, it's fake?" Joel said uncertainly.

Lenny gawked at Joel. Before he could continue I cut in.

"Okay, before the both of you freak out, do you guys have any idea what happened? How we got here?"

They both stayed silent.

"Huh?" he hummed. Joel took out a scrap of paper. "What's this?"

"Isn't that the paper scrap from the…" I stopped. Joel's blue eyes grew wide.

"The charm." I finished.

"Oh yeah, the charm. Oh my God the charm." Lenny gasped.

"Didn't Briella say something about being spirited away to a haunted school?" Joel squeaked.

"You gotta be kidding me. This can't be happening. Oh, I fucking knew that shit was bad news. But did anyone give a crap. Nooooooo! And now we're stuck here. Where the hell is here anyway?!" Lenny growled, "If only Briella didn't beg us to do it."

"Stop whining Lenny. It's not Briella's fault. It doesn't matter what happened right now. What's important is getting out of here."

"Yeah, yeah. Sorry."

"Okay." Joel said breathlessly. He looked dazed as if he didn't really believe this was happening. "Lenny, do you think you could do me a favor?"  
"What?" Lenny asked.

"Hit me. Hit me as hard as you can."

"What?"

"Yeah, I need to wake up now, so if you can just punch me right over here." Joel pointed to his cheek.

Lenny looked at Joel, his head tilted and eyes narrowed. He then shrugged and punched Joel hard on the face. I winced at the contact.

"OOOWWWW!" Joel screeched, "You didn't need to hit me that hard!"

"You said, 'Hit me as hard as you can!'" Lenny yelled.

"Guys!" I snapped.

They both turned to me. "This is not the time. We need to get out of here. And if we got here by that charm that means Shelley, Briella, and Erin are here too."

"That's right. They must be here too." Joel agreed.

"Okay so here's the plan." I started to construct plans. We should find the rest of our friends while searching. Once we find them, we'll look for an exit. Then we'll all get out of here. When I was discussing the details I noticed Lenny staring right behind me. His mouth was open, a scared look on him. Joel was looking behind me too, his eyes large and alert.

"What?"

"Marie, I need you to follow exactly what I say. Don't turn around. Just slowly come toward us."

My mind went blank in confusion. "Why?"

"Just follow me. Please." There was desperation in his voice. Apprehension started to trickle into my mind.

"You better not be trying to scare me, Joel."

"Trust me, I'm not."

I walked slowly forward. Joel grabbed Lenny's arm, who was still frozen in fear, and slowly backed toward the door, his eyes watching behind me. I wanted to know if he was lying. I glanced behind me. Stupid mistake. I was staring right at two glowing white eyes. Before I could move a black mist surrounded my body. I screamed and struggled against the mist. It was strong, almost impossible to escape. Lenny called out my name. With all my strength I pushed the mist. I was free, running for my life. Then I felt something grab my foot. I was knocked out of my feet and landed hard on my hands. The thing started to drag me away from the room. I screamed like hell. The wood burned my skin. My whole body burned.

"LENNY! JOEL! HELP!" I screamed.

"MARIE!" Lenny yelled after me.

The last thing I saw was Lenny and Joel running after me, trying desperately to catch up.

* * *

Oh, no. Things just got real. Hopefully, this chapter was satisfying to you guys. It's a lot longer than my recent chapters, finally! If you guys want to find out what happens to this group of friends continue reading. What happened to Marie? What's going to happen next? Will they make it out alive or will they stay in that eternal hell forever? Look out for new updates every Saturday or Sunday! :)

- _Petrina Van Jay_


	6. Chapter 06

Chapter 06

*Briella's POV

We were on the first floor now. We passed by a lot of corpses. I would look away and try to erase the memory of the dead body with it's mouth screaming forever. The other corpses' were similar. Just different deaths, some missing limbs others not, all of them horrifying. We checked all the rooms on the second floor. There were three big classrooms and two other rooms, which were locked.

"Hey, is that-"

"The exit!" I cutted in.

We both ran to the big doors leading to the outside world. Maneuvering our way around the four long shelves, we reached the entrance.

"Oh thank God. A way out of here." I sighed in relief.

"We can't go yet, though. We have to find everyone else." Erin said.

"I don't know. We searched everywhere and haven't seen any of them."

"We still haven't finished looking through this floor."

"Right."

Erin pushed the door. "Oh no." He pushed on it again and again, but it wouldn't budge. Panic was coming again. I swallowed it down and took a shaky breath.

"Maybe, you need to pull it." I pulled on the door, but it still didn't open. Erin tried pushing and pulling on the door. He even banged it a few times. My breaths were coming in quick now. It finally dawned on me. We were trapped.

"Deep breaths. Just deep breaths."

Erin eyes were frantic and I knew he was freaking out too. He was just acting calm for my sake. I tried my best to take deep breaths.

"Maybe there's another exit. An emergency exit."

"Yeah." I choked out.

"Let's… let's just look for our friends."

"Yeah."

He bumped my shoulder. I looked over at him. He smiled uneasily, an attempt to cheer me up. I felt better, just seeing him smile.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

I froze.

"LENNY! JOEL! HELP!"

I met Erin's eyes. His face was pale.

"Was that-" I started.

"MARIE!" Lenny's voice reverberated throughout the walls.

"Oh my God! Marie!" Erin ran after our friends voices. I followed.

"Marie!" I called out to her. Following their voices we reached the second floor. Marie's screaming had disappeared and Lenny and Joel's voices slowly faded away. We didn't stop running though. I continued to call their names.

"Woah, Briella!" Erin grabbed me and pulled me to his chest.

I blushed. "Um, Erin. What are you doing?"

"You were about to fall."

"About to...what?"

Erin motioned with his head toward a gap on the floor.

I swallowed. "Oh gosh, I didn't even notice it. Thanks."

"No problem." He backs up a little with me still in his arms. When we're a good distance from the hole he let's go.

"Sorry, about your shirt."

I looked down at the white collared shirt. It was stained with red where he had grabbed me. I scrunched my nose.

"Ew. Oh well, that's okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Do you hear them still?"

He shakes his head. "No."

We lingered in our spots, worry still brimming our minds.

"I really want to find them, but I'm really tired." Erin said.

"Me too. I think if I run a little more I might just faint from exhaustion."

He laughed. "You really need to work out more."

"I know."

We rested against the wall, our shoulders brushing each other. I was out of breath, sure, but I was restless. Why was Marie screaming? What happened? She sounded so scared. And this was Marie we were talking about, one of the toughest person I've ever meet.

"Erin?" I addressed.

"Yes?"

"Do you think something happened to Marie?"

Erin was quiet for a long time. I knew his answer from the silence.

"I don't know," He finally said, "but I'm hoping for the best." He turned to me. "Are you rested enough to walk around again?"

I nodded. We got up and started calling their names.

We entered the classrooms. We even tried breaking into the two rooms. With no luck on the second floor we headed downstairs again. There were three rooms downstairs, one of them closed, the others opened. We searched the classroom, no sign of our friends. The other room was so long in length, I could put my hands on both walls at the same time easily. There was nothing there either. We exited the room and decided to try opening the last room. Unlike the brown doors of the other rooms, this one was red. We tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. Unsure of what to do, we went upstairs. The whole time we looked and called I felt uneasy. I felt like…something was watching us. I kept on turning around to see if there was anything. I was always met with nothing. The more we looked the more the uneasiness grew.

"Is something wrong, Briella?" Erin asked.

"I don't know. I just feel… like something's following us. Do you feel like that?"

Erin looked behind us, his eyes wandering to see anything in the darkness. "Yeah," he whispered. "Might just be this place though."

"Maybe." The uneasiness didn't leave.

We continued onward. I tried not to look behind me or to jump when something made a noise. For a while we just walked around, calling out to any of our friends.

I finally couldn't take the pressure. "Erin, do you still feel that? That something's watching us?"

"Yes, I still feel it." He squinted his eyes as if it would help him see in the darkness.

"Oh, there's no way we'll be able to see in here. Not even our phones will help," I whined, "I want to go home."

Erin wrapped his arm around my shoulder, "Don't worry, Briella. We'll get out of here."

Before I can thank him I hear something, a shuffle. I froze. "Did you hear that?"

Erin nodded. He was still too. I swallowed. The uneasiness was turning into fear. I just had a very bad feeling. Slowly, we turned around. I gaped, my whole body turning to steel. In front of us was a giant man. His clothes were torn, black hair disheveled. His skin was so pale it was a sickly grey color. His mouth was stained with some weird black liquid. His eyes, filled with a red color. And I meant filled. He had no pupils, no iris, just red. From his eyes the black sticky looking liquid ran down his face.

I stared at the man in shock and fear. He lifted a hammer, which I didn't even see, above his head. I knew what he was about to do.

"Aa- AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" I screamed.

I felt a hand grab mine as the man swung his hammer. I was dragged away. The hammer hit the floor.

* * *

Hello readers. I know it's technically Monday, but I did post. The horror is just going to pile up from here. So stick around to see what happens in the next update. :)

 _-P.V.J_


	7. Chapter 07

Chapter 07

Erin clutched my hand as we ran for our lives. I let him lead the way. The man had picked up his hammer again and was running after us. He was surprisingly fast. Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side.

Erin took a turn and ran upstairs. It was too late when he realized his mistake.

"Shit." he hissed. There was nowhere to hide, just the bathrooms.

"Come on." He dragged me to the boy's bathroom. Once inside, he locked the door, grabbed a few planks of wood lying around, and stacked it behind the door. I was on my knees, seconds away from throwing up. I was hyperventilating. The black spots returned with white spots accompanying it.

"Briella! Okay, just breath. Don't freak out." Erin rubbed my back as I tried to steady my breathing. Why did I get so easily scared? Why couldn't I be stronger? Maybe if I was stronger, maybe, just maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"Please, Briella. Don't blackout now. I need you." His voice shook. I made the effort and slowly regained my breathing.

"You okay?" Erin asked.

I didn't answer. Tears were running down my cheeks. "What, what, what…What was that thing?!"

A heavy fist banged on the bathroom door. Shrieking in fear, I cowered away from it. Erin wrapped his arm protectively around me. I buried my face on his shoulder, sobbing uncontrollably. I felt hopeless, scared. Death was behind that door, banging on it. It was in the form of a man, but it was death nonetheless. There was no escape.

"Shh, shh. It's okay." Erin cooed, rubbing my back comfortingly. "It's going to be okay." I let myself close my eyes and feel his heartbeat under my hands. His comforting arms surrounded me, protected me. I could almost forget that we were going to die. Almost.

The man punches through the door. I screamed and coiled into Erin's lap. Erin held me tighter, then released me.

"Briella, I have an idea. But you have to promise to follow it, no matter what." He said as he grabbed my shoulders.

"What, what are you-?"

"I need you to hide in a stall right now."

"But what about you?" I asked frantically.

"Don't worry about me."

"What do you mean? Of course, I'm going to worry about you."

"Don't worry. Now, I'm going to distract him."

"What?!" I squeaked.

"Don't worry. Once you see the chance get out of the stall and run."

"But-"

"I'll be right behind you."

"But, I… I don't want to leave you." I cried.

He pulled me to him and kissed my forehead. "Don't worry, Briella. We'll get out of here. I'll be right behind you the whole time."

"Promise." I sniffled.

"Promise."

The man punched another hole on the door.

"Go now!"

Erin pushed me to the nearest stall. I locked the stall door. The door fell down with a bang. I peaked through the slit. Erin was just outside my door holding a plank. He was slowly backing away. Soon I couldn't see him. My view was obscured by a brown sleeve. The man. He was dragging the hammer, which was almost close to my feet. I held my breath. He was making his way to Erin. Quivering, I opened my door a fraction, just to peer out the small crack. Big mistake.

The door creaked. The man stood inches away from me, close enough to grab me. He looked away from Erin. And raised his hammer to swing at me. I stood there gaping like an idiot. I knew I was going to die. I knew it the minute I woke up in this hell. Just when he was about to attack me…. Erin jumped on the man's back pulling him back with his weight.

"Run, Briella, Run!" he screamed.

"Wha, wha, what?! I can't, I can't leave you." I stammered.

"Briella! Just go! Ugh!" The man slammed him into the wall. A cracking noise ringed on the contact. He screamed. "Hurry, Briella! Run!" Erin yelled, his voice filled with pain.

"But Erin!" I cried out.

"I'll be right behind you! Now go!"

I ran. Straight out the door. I kept on running. I didn't turn back. There were no footsteps behind me. I ran inside a classroom and locked it. The second the door was closed I fell to the floor. Curling up into a ball, I sobbed.

* * *

Hello everyone! Okay, I'm sorry. It's Monday. I know. I swear I posted this on Saturday. I swear! Well, anyway looks like things are picking up again. Stick around to find out what happens to this poor group of friends. I post a new chapter every Saturday or Sunday, so look out for that. Until next time. :)

- _P.V.J_


	8. Chapter 08

Chapter 08

I was shaking. I was cold. I was still crying. I had waited for Erin for a long time. But he never came. I finally gathered up the courage to open the door and go outside. Trying to stay quiet, I walked up the stairs.

"Erin." I sniffled. "Erin."

What if something happened to him? He said he was going to be right behind me. But where was he?

"Erin," I called, "Where are you?"

I put my hands over my eyes and cried. Without Erin, I had no hope, no light. Erin was the one who lifted me up. He was the reason I was able to continue on even when I felt so useless.

"Please. Erin." I sobbed. I allowed myself to drown in my self pity. Then I wiped the tears away and continued on. I needed to find Erin. I'm sure he was looking for me too.

I searched the whole second floor, but didn't find him. I went to the third floor.

The floor leading to the stairs had a thick red streak. A whimper escaped my lips. I could feel the beginnings of my hyperventilation coming. I choked it down. Hesitantly, I followed the streak, toward the boys' bathroom. I was shaking harder now.

"Erin." My voice came out like a whisper. I went inside, stepping over the broken door. As I maneuvered my way around I accidentally step on something wet. Looking down I see my pink sneakers damp with blood. Yelping, I stepped out of it. I looked around the room, blood colored the old walls. It filled the air with a metallic scent. I continued further into the bathroom. I stopped at the farthest stall. Blood leaked out from under it. It pooled around my sneakers, staining it red. It was hard to breath. There was this feeling, a feeling deep in my stomach telling me something horrible will happen if I opened that door. But I had to. Slowly, I opened it.

Something fell out as the door opened. It flops to the floor with a thud. For a few seconds I stared at what was in front of me. I covered my mouth in horror at the decapitated body. There was no limbs on it, just a torso. I backed away. As the torso fell something else fell with it rolling to my feet.

"Ah…AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! ERIN! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!"

I stand in horror as I stare down at his eyes. His dead grey eyes, which were once filled with determination, are now empty. I collapse next to his head, whimpers escaping my lips. I scream. Why? Why is this happening to us? I just wanted to have a fun time with my friends. But, now we're lost, trapped in this hell. Now, we're all going to die.

* * *

The first death. This really took me some time to write. What happens next? Find out in the next chapter which will be posted next Saturday or Sunday.

- _P.V.J_


	9. Chapter 09

Chapter 09

*Shelley's POV

The rain patters on the concrete. The gentle drips ease me to sleep. It is cold, but I am comfortable with it. I am in an eternal sleep, my mind blank instead of filled with its usual nightmares. My breaths come out smoothly. For the first time in awhile, I feel carefree. Someone screams in the distance.

I open my eyes and sit up quickly. The world is hazy around me. The air feels stiff. Slowly, my vision comes back. Confusion etches my mind. I am in an unfamiliar walkway.

"Where, am I?" I mutter.

Another scream echoes. My blood runs cold. That scream sounds so familiar.

"Briella?"

She screams again. I quickly get up.

"Aah!" I nearly collapse as pain spreads through my leg. Hissing, I stretch out my right leg. I move my foot around. No pain from that movement, so there's nothing wrong with my foot. I lift up my skirt to check if there are any wounds. Blood leaks out of a cut on my thigh. It makes the skin around it sticky and red.

"Wonderful." I sigh sarcastically.

It didn't look too deep, but it still stings when I move.

"Wait, a minute. Where's my…"

I stand up, ignoring the sudden burst of pain. Examining the walkway, I search for it. I always had it with me, but it's gone, out of its sheath. I can't lose it. Especially not now. After searching for a few minutes I finally find what I am looking for. I pick up the red handle, which is decorated with stars and the moon, of the ceremonial knife. The tip is bloody, suggesting that it might have caused the cut on my thigh. Walking to the edge of the walkway I wash off the blood and put it back in it's hidden sheath. I smooth my skirt, my way of feeling if they are there. Both ceremonial knives are perfectly secured inside the straps around my legs.

Now that I have found my knife I survey my surroundings. In front of me stood two buildings. The building at the right is a plain rectangular building. It's windows seem to shine, reflecting light. Things move slowly around the outside. I am too far away to tell what they are though. The other is similar but it looks a little bigger and newer. I glance behind me. An old building rises high up. It is obvious this is the oldest of them all. I study the forest that confines the three buildings. There is nothing else.

I lean against the railings, sighing to myself. I have no idea where I am, and by the looks of it no way of getting out. The the buildings holds a minacious air and there is no telling how wide the forest stretches out. How did I even get here? I start racking my brain, trying to remember what happened before I was knocked out. Slowly, it comes back to me. The charm. That's why I'm here. I must have been spirited away to some other dimension. I rub my temples. I thought she said we'd be spirited away to a haunted school. Are all these buildings part of a school? It's a weird layout for a school, though. And I had a feeling that not all of the buildings are part of the school. A thought strikes me and I stop breathing. If I was spirited away to this place by the charm that meant… that means that all my friends are here. I even just heard Briella screaming. I look toward the direction of the scream. The oldest of the buildings looms in front of me, looking a little more intimidating from a moment ago.

A moan rings from behind me, low and throaty. And unhuman. I freeze knowing that whatever is behind me is not going to be good. Taking a deep breath, I steady myself for the horror I am about to face. I slowly twist around. The thing in front of me had unnaturally dark green skin. It is in the form of a human being, but it isn't. It has no eyes, no mouth, no facial features. Just a blank face. A loose hospital gown hangs on its body. Acting as calm as I can, I take a step backward. My foot touches the floor. It roars and charges at me. I don't waste anytime. I sprint for the door. My teeth grit as pain stings my leg. I reach the door with the zombie thing a few inches away behind me. It runs weirdly but it is faster than I expected. And with my wound I'm not practically fast. I push hard on the door. But it doesn't open.

"Oh, no. Please, not now."

The thing is now seconds away from me. With all my strength I push on the door. I fall inside with a thud. The zombie is about to go in after me. Before it can I fling my hand out, palm facing the zombie. A strong wind blows out of nowhere, shutting the doors as the zombie reaches out for me.

* * *

Hey, everyone. I'm sure you all have a lot of questions. If you're wondering about Briella, we'll get back to her. I'm trying to make this story similar to the original Corpse Party games. So I will be switching perspectives throughout the story. And I'm sure you have a lot of questions on what's going on. But don't worry, everything will be explained in the next chapters. So stick around to find out what happens next to these poor tortured souls! Enjoy! :)

- _P.V.J_


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I gasp in air. I have never seen anything like that. But it isn't the worst I've seen. I take some time to catch my breath. Unfortunately, it seems like this occurrence isn't just another nightmare. Carefully, I slowly get up. I press my skirt to the wound. The blood won't be noticeable on the red fabric.

The first thing I notice is how dark it is. It is almost impossible to see. I turn on my phone. Then an idea hits me. I open up my contacts and call the first person I find, Marie Francis. I wait for her phone to ring, but all I get are constant beeps. Peering at the screen, I see why. No signal.

"Perfect."

I keep my phone on for the light. There are four longs shelves. Small shoes litter the dirty, old floor. There is a stench in the air that makes me suck in my breath. By the entrance, there are words carved onto it.

"Kangi." Tilting my head, I attempt to read it. "Tenjin…. Tenjin Shogakko. Shogakko? That means…. primary school. Elementary school. Tenjin? Heavenly...Host?" It's been awhile since I read kangi, so it is difficult to read. Well, at least I can read it.

I turn toward the shelves. This must be the school Briella was talking about. It sure looks like it could be haunted. I step forward. _Squish_! I stop. Lifting my shoe, I check the bottom. I crinkle my nose. At the bottom sticks what seems like a piece of meat. I gently peel it off my shoe. The soft meat leaves a red smudge on my finger. I press my lips together. We have to get out of here, before we end up without our guts too. I look around to find the owner of the… thing I hold. A corpse sits a few feet away at the corner of the room. It seems to be old, so this place has been here for a while. I walk toward the corpse. Its eyes watch me the whole time. Discomfort starts to creep up. I squash it and steel myself. Standing in front of it, I put down its piece. I bow my head and whisper, "Gomen'nasai."

Knowing I couldn't do anything for it, I am about to walk away. _Snap!_ I glance back to the corpse. Now, it's body is more slumped, head bowed, eyes looking down. Maggots from inside are crawling out from the disturbance. As one little worm crawls out of a slit, something gleams from inside the corpse. I tilt my head to the side in curiosity. I go back and inspect it. From the outside it looks the same. But something moved it, for sure. I take a closer look in the little cut where I saw the glistening object. Something shiny is lodged near the last rib bone at the back. It shines mysteriously, red matter covering it. I bite my lip, indecision making me waver. I take out one of my knives and align it to the cut. My hand hovers at the area. "Gomen'nasai. Please forgive me." The knife slices through the rotting skin. Bugs crawl out from the opening. I ignore them as they walk over my hands and arms. The organs hiding behind its skin is in the process of rotting, most of it black and leaking a weird liquid. I hold my breath knowing if I inhale the air it would wreck of the new exposed meat. Using the knife I make the cut bigger. I need it big enough for me to fit in my fingers. Once it was big enough I search for the easiest way to get the object. Then, I plunge my hand inside. The squishy rotting meat is soft against my hand. It isn't...morbid as I thought it would be. Moving my fingers around, I try to get the item with as little blood and excess liquid on me. My fingers brush against something hard. I grab the hard object and pull it out slowly, not wanting to spill any more of the exposed organs. In my smeared red hand, a small purple stone lays inside. I whip the bloody stone using my skirt. The stone is encompassed with a light aura. I turn it around.

"Amethyst." I whisper to myself. Amethyst is useful against vengeful spirits. I have a feeling it's going to be very useful in a place like this. I put the stone in my pocket. Taking out a penny, I put it in front of the corpse. "I'm sorry for the intrusion. Please, take this." I bow and leave the corpse in peace.

* * *

I'm so sorry! This must be like my second or third time posting on Monday. But I have a really terrible excuse. I decided it was a great idea to leave all my work to the last minute so, yeah. Sorry! :( I used a few Japanese terms in this chapter. If you don't know the meaning here's a general translations.

Kangi - written form of Japanese

Shogakko - elementary school

Gomen'nasai - I'm sorry or I'm very sorry.

And I think that's all the terms. Remember I update every Saturday and Sunday, or at least I try, so stick around to find out what happens to these unfortunate group of friends. Enjoy! :)

- _P.V.J_


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

The small clicks of my footsteps echoing against the wood is the only sound in this abandoned school. I haven't found any of my friends, not even a trace or a clue. Briella's screams had stopped a while ago. My stomach churns with worry. I hope she's okay. I hope all of them are. I turn the corner and stop on my tracks. A corpse lays on the floor. It is basically a skeleton. Dirty, bloody clothes hang loosely on it. I take a deep breath and step over it.

"Sorry." I mutter as a pass over it.

I have passed by many corpses, and I haven't even been here long. It's hard to breath the air, which is filled with the stench of rot. Crimson liquid dripped from my fingertips. Little pieces of guts stick to my hand. Skin broken away from the corpses gather underneath my fingernails. I had opened up at least six corpses. Each time I would put a coin. I know that doesn't make up for what I did, but it's all I have at the moment. I'd given up on trying to wipe away the blood a while ago. I sigh to myself. It will take me forever to find my friends. They can be anywhere. They might not even be in this building. I put my hand in my pocket and hold the smooth stone in my hand. It is really small, only about the size of my pinkie's nail. But I know the power it holds, especially against ghosts.

"Hee hee. Hee hee."

I stop.

"Hee hee. Hee hee." A child's voice giggles. I glance behind me. Nothing. Giggles echo again, but this time it isn't just one. Multiple children laugh. Footsteps run down the steps. My breath hitches. I am in the middle of the hallway, with no visible places to hide. Three children come down the stairs. Before they can see me I run behind two large planks. Peeking around the wood I watch the children. They look like regular kids just playing some kind of game, if it isn't for their glowing blue bodies speckle with blood and the scissors they carry that is equally drenched in blood. I hold my breath and stay where I am. If I move now there's a chance the ghosts would notice me. They laugh again. There is a pit in my stomach. These kids were either spirited away from here or are the ones who made this place. The oldest, who seemed to be the leader, has her hair in pigtails. She is missing an eye, so she probably can't see well. The other girl or I think is a girl, has no head. Everything above her jaw is gone. The last, a boy, has a big red spot at his abdomen. Attached to a string around their arms hangs a bloody bag.

They all giggle and head down the hall. I lay flat on my stomach and play dead. I whisper the familiar words of an incantation to hide me completely. They continue on their way laughing childishly, almost innocently. I stay in place until I don't hear the sounds of their footsteps. Knowing it wouldn't last long, I take a peek. There is no one. A breath of relief escapes my lips. I knew this place was dangerous the moment I walked through the door. But the fact that my friends are here too… My heart beats hard against my chest. I had to find them before something disastrous happens.

* * *

So chapter 11's out. Not much going on, but I promise things will spice up. Until next time...

 _\- P.V.J._


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

While walking around I found a room. It's like a classroom. The big space holds small desks that is dispersed around here and there. This building is definitely an elementary school. I pick up a piece of paper. It's worn from old age, almost impossible to read. Especially since it is in kangi. This is also no doubt a Japanese school. I mumble what I believe the words are.

"Murder… serial murder… four kids…."

I press my lips together. So there was a murder here. I snort. _Of course there was a murder here. There's dozens of dead bodies here._ I continue attempting to read the paper. At the side, there are pictures of four small kids. My eyes widen in surprise. I recognize three of the four kids. They are the ones I just saw earlier. I can guess what happened here. These four children were murdered, most likely in a very gruesome way, and their energies was imprinted into this place. I read something about this in the book my father gave me.

All I have to do is find my friends and appease the kids. If only it is that easy. I know appeasing a ghost is harder than it sounds. I need to find out why these kids are still here, what they're looking for. But first I need to find my friends.

I attempt to read the article again in the hopes there is a hint on why the kids are still here. As I read, the old brown wood quivers beneath my feet. It starts out small but it soon shakes underneath me. I'm knocked out of my feet and land on my injured leg. I yelp in pain. I cover my head, customary of all the drills in our school. With the earthquake in progress it is impossible to check on my wound. Pieces of debris fall off. Desks are knocked down. I close my eyes hoping for it to end. A squishy sound contrasts against the rumble and crashes around me. My throat tightens. The room drifts into a stop. I wait a few moments for it to settle then sit up. Pain quickly shocks my senses. I grit my teeth as I swallow it down. The wound isn't too bad. It is a little more opened but not as bad as I suspected.

I get up with the help of a nearby desk. Turning around, I look towards the area where I heard the noise. Under a desk was a corpse, its head now squashed with only its arm sticking out. The matter of the brain is splattered on the floor. It is a grisly sight, but there are far worse. The arm wears a sleeve. It looks clean enough to use around my wound. I bring out my knife and limp to it.

"Gomen'nasai." I whisper to it.

I cut the sleeve and wrap it tight around my leg. The pain subsides a little. I take out a coin from my pocket and lay it on the hand. It is fresher than others. Spots of mold is the only indication of it being older than six months. A small bug wriggles under the skin, making it's way toward the surface. I watch fascinated by the movement. The maggot pops it's little head through a hole. It crawls out, a peach colored worm smudge with blood, and walks across the arm like it's nothing.

A small bulge sticks out under the skin the maggot was in. I inspect the hole. Through all the blood there is something blue and glowing. Another stone. I take out my knife.

"Gomen'nasai." I whisper silently.

I cut through the skin. Blood spreads faster. The purple stone lies inside, drench in red. As I take it out, my hand touches the soft insides of the body. It feels… nice. I twist the stone in my hand. It's bigger than the one I found earlier, about half my pinkie. I wipe off the blood and pocket it. The blood streams down slowly. It is almost like tears, its cries of a painful death reflecting on the glossy liquid. I'm suddenly overcome with sorrow. This person died and in this place too. It must have been awful. He or she must be hurting. I bow down, my forehead touching the cold flesh.

"I'm… so sorry."

I lift my head. Taking a deep breath, I pull out another coin and lay it in the hand. I stand up and bow one last time. Then I leave the classroom.

I let out a sigh. This place… I hope we didn't need to stay too long. I take a moment to look at my surroundings. As expected after an earthquake there are some damages. But I didn't expect this much. Dozens of holes are on the floor now. Debris lay everywhere. I carefully walk to the stairs. I just had a feeling that's where Briella is. I reach the stairs. "Ah!" I stare trying to comprehend what I'm seeing. The stairs… it's collapsed, a big gaping hole where the steps are supposed to be. I groan in frustration. If that earthquake made that much damage how am I going to find my friends? Maybe there is another set of stairs?

Having no other choice, I walk back the way I came. As I got to the center of the hallway the smell of mold and rot increased. In the dark, the sticky crimson blood looks like spilled dark juice. Up ahead, a decaying corpse laid. I stop in front of it. It is on it's side...such a pity. Its organs is exposed at the torso. Little bugs move around inside. There's not as much compared to the others I've gone through. I stare at the entrancing movements of the bugs. The soft, squishy organs. The blood gushing. The smell of death. It's beautiful. A small smile plays on my lips. I kneel down next to the corpse and grab the rotting meat. It squishes, squeezing blood and other liquids. It's soft and nice between my hands. I can't help but laugh. It is amazing what the body turns into once you leave. To others it must look horrible. But to me, it looks like a wonderful, fun experiment to play with. I dump the chunk of beef on the floor and dig for more. It feels amazing. It's cold but warm at the same time, a feeling of ecstasy unimaginable fills me. I don't realize I'm laughing hysterically.

I hear a bump behind me. Whipping around, I search the dark for anything moving. Nothing is behind me. It must have been a stray wood plank or the wind. Although, I could have sworn I saw something move. I look at my hands. Blood drips from my smell of death lingers on it. It reminds me of… I stare in horror at the demolished corpse. Guts surround it, dark liquid spreading quickly. I feel numb. I know I did this, yet I can't believe it. I want to scream, but my throat is so tight it refuses to come out. I'm choking with horror. _What… what am I thinking? What am I DOING?!_

Tears fall replacing the screams locked up inside me.

"I'm… so sorry. Please! Forgive me!" I bawl. I bow lowly to the corpse. Turning around, I grab my backpack and pull out an earring. It's red small stones matched the blood on my hands. I throw it next to the corpse and run like hell. Away from what I did. Away from the looming truth.

I run back into the classroom. Hiccups comes out multiple times, my sobs louder than I like. I bang my head against the wall. _What is wrong with me?! Why am I acting like this?!_ I'm horrified at the thoughts that plagued my mind. I want to scream. Instead I bang and bang and bang, harder and harder and harder.

"AHH!" Pain throbs from my head. The world spirals around me. I lift my arm up to my forehead. Something trails down my face. I take my arm away from the throbbing. My arm is painted dark with new crimson color. My blood drips down my chin onto my hands. It mixes with all the corpses' blood, becoming just another speck in a red pool. I can't breath again as the weight of what I've done hits me. I scream. Furiously, I try to rub off the dead's blood, but no matter how hard I try it's imprint seems to stay. Hopeless, I sit down against the wall and take a few deep breaths. Tears still run down my face along with my own blood. This place… it's messing with my mind. I would never do that. I would never even think of it. So why am I doing it?

I need to find my friends and get out of here. Closing my eyes, I let my mind relax. From the throbbing headache to my aching heart, it takes a while to calm down. I sigh and press my arm onto my cut forehead. I can't touch the open wound without risking an infection. I get up to leave when I hear footsteps outside the door.

* * *

I'm so horrible. I'm very sorry for posting late. I've been busy recently so there was no time. I will try to stay on my schedule or at least post every week. Hope you continue to follow the story of these poor victims. Especially since Shelley's getting quite interesting... Until next time! :)

- _P.V.J_


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

I freeze. My heart stops for a moment. A shadow looms over the door. I silently lurch under a desk, hoping to God whoever, or whatever, doesn't notice me. The door slides open. Heavy footsteps makes its way across the floor. It seems cautious, so it could mean that this person, or thing, isn't really an enemy. Maybe I can get away quickly if I'm fast and quiet.

"Hello?" the person speaks.

It's voice is masculine and clear. A living human.

"Amy?" he calls out, "You here?"

Taking a chance, I peak my head out. In the dark stood a tall teenaged boy. He wore a uniform that consists of a green collared shirt, a navy blue vest, and navy blue pants. His dirty blonde hair stands out in the dark. I stay where I am, not exactly sure if I should reveal myself. The boy turns around, his eyes trying to search the dark. He is using his phone for light. I recoil closer to the desk. My foot quietly shuffles, making the softest of noise. Unfortunately, he notices and swivels his phone toward me. Our eyes meet. I hold his eye contact, daring him to come closer. He is tense, waiting. I can tell he is trying to figure out if I am crazy, but I'm not. **I'm not.**

"Um, hi." He says.

"Hi." It comes out forced and stressed.

The guy lets out a sigh of relief. I guess I passed his evaluation. He takes a step toward me. Tensing up, I involuntarily move my hand over one of my knives. Seeing that I tensed up, he stops for a moment. He takes slow steps towards my hiding spot, careful not to frighten me. Once he's in front of me, he kneels down so we are face to face. He gives me a smile. I offer him a blank stare.

"Hi, I'm Chris William." He introduces. He waits for me to speak.

For a few seconds I don't respond. "I'm Shelley. Shelley Cooper."

His smile grows wider. "Nice to meet you."

He sticks out his hand in greeting. I stare at his hands.

Frowning, he asks, "Something wrong?"

"Um…" With a small sigh, I show my hands.

He gasps a little, his green eyes widening in shock. "What happened?"

"Well, between the cut on my forehead and the one on my leg with nothing to stop the bleeding I had to resort to my hands."

"Oh. You okay? You need help getting up?"

"No, it's fine. Thank you… Chris?"

"Yeah, and you're… Shelley?"

I nod.

"Great." He gets up. I follow right after him.

"Are you looking for someone?" I ask wondering if he will lie.

"Yeah. Just a few of my friends that I think might be here. You?"

I nod.

"Um.. hey. You think it's a good idea if we stick together. I haven't seen anyone at all since I've been here. Well, I mean..."

"I think that would be best."

He smiles. "Great. Come on then."

* * *

Hey guys. I'm soooooo sorry. It's been about two weeks since I posted, I think. A lot of things happened, but I'll make up for it. I swear! To make up for it, I will be posting chapter 14 sometime soon. Maybe Wednesday. So stick around to find out what happens next! :)

- _P.V.J_


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"So you also did the Sachiko Ever After?" Chris asks me as we walk down the hallway.

I nod in response. "Do you think you're friends are also here?"

"Possibly. I have no idea. I hope not though."

I stay silent. I barely talk, even with my group of friends.

"Where are you from?" He asks.

"America." I answer cautiously.

"I mean what state."

"California."

"I'm from Illinois."

"Oh, that's cool." I pause, "Sorry for the first answer. Considering this is a Japanese school I just assumed you might be from another country."

"This is a Japanese school? How do you know?"

"Well, at the front there were words written in Kangi, which is the written language of Japan."

"How do you know it's Kangi?"

"I can read it. My mom's friend taught me a long time ago."

"Wow! That's so cool! I can't even speak Spanish and my dad's been trying to teach me ever since I was little."

"It is difficult to learn a new language."

"Yeah." Silence. "Have you seen anyone else? I mean..you know..."

I shake my head.

"You don't talk much, do you?" Chris comments.

I smile apologetically. "No, not much."

"Eh, that's okay."

We walk in silence. I stare at the ground, away from Chris, away from my surroundings. I can feel them staring at me. The unblinking dead eyes of the victims look as we pass. I avoid the sensations of their glare. Uneasiness writhes its way towards my brain, but it doesn't erase the feeling of awe. The amount of bodies here...NO! I shake make head, trying to rid myself of these twisted thoughts. I catch the eyes of another person and stop at my tracks. Empty sockets stare at me. I don't feel scared. All I feel is an overwhelming excitement. I wonder how that one feels. The excitement is taking over. It takes all my effort to stay put.

"Hey, something wrong?" Chris asks from up ahead.

It's getting harder to breath. What's wrong with me?

Chris walks back to me and looks where I'm staring. His breath hitches when he sees it. I'm starting to shake, the feeling almost unbearable.

"Let's go." Chris takes my hand and leads me away. It's hollow eyes follow us. "I know it's horrible. It's really horrible." Chris continues.

I take deep easy breaths as my sanity comes back to me. I deep sinking feeling enters my stomach. What is going on with me? Well, I know one thing for sure. I need to focus on finding my friends and getting out of here. Now.

"What the…" Chris sputters.

He stops and stares up the stairs. I look up to find dozens of desks and chairs stacked together. There's too many for us to climb, plus it looks highly unstable. I stand there speechless, realizing what it meant. I can't go upstairs. I can't get to Briella.

"Great." Chris hisses. He runs his hand over his hair, a frustrated look on his face.

"Have you been outside?" I ask.

He looks at me. "No."

"Oh." I was hoping he knew about the other three buildings.

"Have you?"

I hesitate. "Yeah. There's two other buildings just northeast and northwest from here."

"What are we waiting for? Let's go." He starts walking the other way. I stand alone in front of the stairs. I couldn't just go to the other two buildings. Not when Briella is here.

"What's wrong?"

Looking down, I answer, "My friend is somewhere upstairs. I heard her a while ago."

"Oh. What was she saying?"

I don't answer. The sound of Briella's inconsolable crying rings inside my head. "She was screaming."

"I'm so sorry," he pauses, "Let's try the other-"

"I already did." I cut him off.

"I'm sorry." His voice is as soft as a whisper.

Silence fills the air. I bow my head, clasping my hands tightly. _Please. Just please. Be safe. I'll be back._

Turning around to face Chris I say, "Nothing I can do. Let's look around for our other friends."

"Okay."

"Do you mind if we check out the entrance?"

"No."

We walk together to the entrance, me leading the way. It doesn't take long to reach the big double doors.

"Woah. That is one big door. What's with all the shelves?" Chris wonders aloud.

"It must be a tradition of Japan," I offer.

He shrugs, "Maybe."

I run my hands once on top of my skirt. The bulk of the two knifes rubs on my hands. I glance at Chris with my peripheral. It doesn't seem like he saw.

Chris turns to face me. "Other than the two buildings, did you see anything? Like anything to tell us where we are?"

I shake my head. "Just a forest."

"A forest?"

"We're surrounded by a forest."

"What?! So we're trapped here even if we get out of this building?" He asks, but it isn't for me to answer.

Not waiting any longer, I pull on the door. I pull again harder. Nothing.

"You're kidding me." I mutter.

"Here, let me try." Chris takes my place. He tries frantically but no matter what it still doesn't open. With a grunt he lets go. "Great. Just great. We're locked in here too." He starts to pace.

"Ugh!" He bangs his fist on the locked door.

"We can't give up now." I reassure softly.

He looks back at me, his green eyes dull. They were full of hopelessness.

"We can't." I repeat with more conviction.

"You're… right. We need to find a way out. Maybe a secret backdoor somewhere."

I nod.

"Alright. Let's go." Some of the hopelessness has left his eyes.

* * *

Hey, everyone... I know. I suck. Well, I'll save the excuses and just get to the point. I will for sure be getting back on schedule. These past few weeks have been extremely busy for various reasons, but things have calmed down. You can look out for a new chapter Saturday or Sunday. Oh, and I will be posting the chapter I missed like three weeks ago on Thursday. Hoped you enjoyed the story so far because it's about to get really serious soon. :)

- _P.V.J_


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

We are walking again. I was able to ignore the throbbing of my leg, but now it's beginning to take its full impact. I'm limping rather slowly, too slow in my opinion. The rain still patters leaving streaks of water trailing down the window. New raindrops just replace it. The moon that is obscured by clouds, gives little light to what's ahead. Compunction conceals most of my thought. They're here, staring at me, questioning me. _Why? Why did I do it? But I didn't._ I chuckle bitterly to myself. Of course I did. The evidence is on my arms. The blood had dried a long time ago. It's now just a red stain, a constant reminder of the feeling of bodies. Its soft insides. So gushy. So fun to…

I bite down on my bottom lip hard and dig my nails onto my palm. What is wrong with me? _This isn't me. This isn't who I am. Just, stop messing with my head._

"How about we search in this room?" Chris motions to a closed door. I jump as his voice disturbs my mental reasoning.

"You okay?" He asks.

I nod. He opens the door and peeks inside. It's different from any room I've seen. It stretches out into the darkness. The walls are so close together, it is impossible for both Chris and me to stand next to each other.

"Is this supposed to be another hallway?" I mutter.

"I don't think we should go here." Chris whispers.

"We should at least take a look."

"I don't know. I have a really bad feeling about this."

I look sideways to Chris. I close my eyes and let my senses control. Although I felt uneasy, I didn't feel any atrocious aura.

"We should be fine." I decide.

He grabs my arm suddenly, squeezing hard. I twist it in his grip, making him let go. I glare at him.

Before he can say anything I walk forward cautious with every step. Chris hesitates before following. As we walk to the end of the room the familiar stench of death becomes stronger. There is a corpse or two in here.

"We should go." Chris blurts out behind me.

I ignore him and continue onward.

"You're a stubborn one, aren't you." he mumbles under his breath.

The narrow hallway opens up to a bigger room. I move out of Chris's way so he can stand beside me. Laying on the floor is a corpse. It's surprisingly fresh. In fact it looks like he just died hours, even minutes ago. I shine my light on the corpse to get a better look at it. Blood drips from his open mouth. It is still running down the numerous stab wounds on his back. But something stood out to me. I walk to the corpse and kneel down. Looking over the wounds I lightly shift his body to get a better look at them. They are different, bigger. Most of the corpses I inspected had smaller cuts. But this corpse looks like it's been attacked by a butcher knife at the least.

"Do you think these wounds look a little different?" I turn to Chris.

He doesn't respond. Instead, he stares at the corpse with wide eyes.

"Chris?"

He continues to stare expressionless. I look back at the corpse. I notice that he is wearing the same uniform as Chris.

"I'm sorry." My voice is barely a whisper.

Chris takes a deep breath and turns around.

"What do you mean different?" Chris says in a low voice.

His tone takes me by surprised. I cock my head to the side.

"The wounds are bigger than the ones on other corpses. This one looks like he's been attacked by a bigger weapon. The others looked like they were attacked with smaller weapons."

"Like?"

"This person looks like he's been attacked by maybe a butcher knife, others maybe scissors."

He doesn't say anything. I shift my weight uncomfortably. My instincts are screaming that something is wrong.

"You're very... aware aren't you?" He chuckles.

I can't help but look at him. There is a different air around him. The approachable atmosphere before is gone replaced with something almost menacing. Almost.

I stand up and walk to him. "I'm sorry for your lost. Should we go?"

"Yeah, let's go."

He motions for me to go first and I do. I'm careful to listen to everything around me. Once we're out, Chris closes the door.

"I guess we should go check somewhere else," Chris says with a smile.

"Yes, that is a good idea."

Although he's smiling again the atmosphere doesn't change.

* * *

Okay, chapter 15. Finally. Seems like a little filler here, but it'll do. Hope you all have been enjoying so far. Until next time... :)

- _P.V.J_


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Inside the room we first met, we search thoroughly for anything useful. The arm is still bleeding. I turn my away from it, focusing on searching the floor.

"Found anything?" Chris asks light heartedly.

"Nothing."

Chris is near the windows looking for anything useful to us. He's acting the way he first did, but my gut is still telling me something else. I continue searching, moving near the door. A glint at the corner of my eye catches my attention. I glance behind me. Nothing really stands out. It's just the same dark room. My breath hitches. I watch Chris as he crouches to take a better look under a few desks. A hilt, barely noticeable at Chris's side, gleams under the moonlight the window provides. I look away. _A hilt of a knife? Could he have a knife?_ _Why does he have a knife?_ He might have picked it up from somewhere, but…. I start to evaluate him. He is taller and just telling from his physique probably stronger. But he might not be an experienced fighter like me. I also have my knives. I know how to use them well. I can protect myself if needed. I have a chance.

"Find anything?" Chris asks again.

"Nothing."

He sighs. "Think we should leave? Try looking outside a little more?"

I nod and head out. Walking behind him, I stay silent. Being with Chris can be dangerous. I need to make sure he isn't. But how?

We continue walking without a word. I could just ask him? He most likely just found it and decided to keep it for self defense. But what if... I take a deep breath and plunge in.

"Is that a knife?"

"Huh?" Chris stops and turns to me. He looks at me curiously.

I look him straight in the eye. "That hilt hiding at your side, is that a knife?" I repeat.

He stares at me for a few seconds. Something in his eyes...it isn't right.

"You know, don't you?" He intones.

I don't answer.

All of a sudden he starts laughing maniacally. "I admit it. I killed him. I killed him! With this knife!" He pulls out the knife. As I suspect it is big, a butcher knife to be precise. It's somewhat bigger than my knives. Sharp too. But against my two knives I think I can fight him off.

"Why?" I simply ask.

"He was in my way."

I open my mouth to ask another question but he continues talking.

"I don't like it when people are in my way." His eyes glint with the unnatural color of insanity. I have seen it before, and I will never forget it. He takes a step closer to me. I take a step back my hands instantly itching towards my knives. I hesitate.

"No, no. I can't let you tell her. I can't let her know. So what better way for me to silence you than to kill you!"

He slashes at me but I dodge immediately to the side. My hands are going toward my knives. It would be easy to grab them and stab his heart. Watch as his face shows his surprise while he hits the floor. See the blood pool underneath him. His life leaving his dying body. Then rotting. How easy it would to just to kill him. But instead, I run the other direction.

* * *

Okay... finally. I wrote this a while ago, but I wasn't so sure with the outcome. Know, I'm okay with it. What do you guys think? :) Anyway, hope you guys look out for more updates in the future. Until then...

- _P.V.J._


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

I turn the corner toward the exit, running without stop. My leg burns. Now that I'm running, it hurts like hell. My head's starting to throb too. I ignore the physical discomfort and run as fast as I can. I can hear Chris's footsteps just behind me. He's laughing crazily. The intersection comes up ahead. Knowing that the entrance is locked, I turn to the left and continue on. The end of the hallway is reaching me. The stairs are going to be… I screech to a stop just in time to avoid falling into a giant gap in the floor. The gap is blocking my way to the stairs. I mentally kick myself. How could I forget? Both the stairs are blocked. I have no where to run. Someone chuckles behind me. I spin around to face Chris. His green eyes hold an insane gleam in them. That gleam... do I have the same gleam when I opened the corpses?

"Looks like I got you cornered." He smirks.

I take a step back. The floor breaks under my foot and I collapse. My bleeding leg goes through the floor. I cry out. A burning sensation stretches its way up my leg. Blood flows out. My head feels like it's going to split. I'm tired. I'm weak. Wounded, bleeding. I can't fight. Not like this. _No, maybe I can. All I need to do is get my leg out of this hole, take out my knives, and..._ no! I can't. I can't kill him. _But how easy it would be. I just need to stab him and all the life will rush out. It will take a few seconds. A few seconds to end it all._ NO! I won't kill him. This isn't who I really am. And I'm sure this isn't Chris. I'm sure he was never like this before he was dragged into this place. What is this placed doing to us? The knife flashes in Chris's hands. I bow my head, covering my face with my hair. I won't kill him. But I can't fight. "So this is the end," I say in a hushed tone. Chris laughs. Then with a roar he charges at me. I close my eyes, accepting my faith.

* * *

Hello, everyone. It's been a while. Well, I know this is extremely short, but I didn't really want to drag things out. What happens to Shelley? Will she really die or will she find a way out? And what happened to everyone else? Is Briella still crying in despair? What even happened to Marie? This will soon be answered. Hopefully you've enjoyed so far. :) Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

*Marie's POV

I moan in pain. _Oh God. My body feels sore. My arms hurts. They really hurt. Where am I anyways?_ I open my eyes halfway. The room is dark. There are two beds at the corner of the room. There's only one door and it's closed. There's a constant dripping sound somewhere. I become more alert as the pain slowly increases. It feels like my arms are burning. The strong unpleasant smell fills my nose. Looking around I notice the room seems familiar. Breathing in the dusty air, I begin to cough. I curl in on myself. Everything is sore. But my arms, oh my arms, felt like they are on fire. Something drips. It lulls me deep into my memory. Then it hits me. I'm back at the room I was in earlier. I was with Joel and Lenny. Then I got taken away by that thing. Whatever it was. I try to shake the last grogginess away. Ropes bound me down, restricting my movement. Groaning, I start moving around to loosen up the rope, but the more I move the tighter it seems to become. The movement made my arms burn even more. Growling in frustration I look down to see how thick the rope is. I gasp at what I see. The rope around my arms is covered with a dark liquid. I can't tell exactly what it is but I have an idea. The liquid had made a trail all the way to the floor, leaving a sticky stain under me. The pain seems to increase even more as I realize the blood leaking from my arm. The rope covers my arm entirely so I can't see the injury. I really, really don't want to see it though. I take a deep breath and push the thought away. I need to focus on the rope. I hesitantly glance down to see the rope. To my surprise it looks really thin. The black rope completely covered me from shoulders to hips. The same rope is used to bound my legs. I look closer at the strange rope. My mouth drops open as I realize that it actually isn't rope. It's hair. Actual hair. The black thin hair bit into my skin. I stare at it. _How did this hair get on me? Where did it come from? And most importantly, h_ _ow the hell am I getting out of here?_

I wriggle around a few times trying to see if the hair will loosen just a little. I just manage to get the hair tighter. I look in the darkness, trying to find anything that might help take the hair off. I could probably scoot around the room. Something drops to the floor. I immediately look up. The item rolls slowly to me. In the dark it's hard to tell what it is, but it's small and long. It looks like a pen. A long throaty groan resonates in front of me. My breath stops. I can feel a presence in front of me. Slowly, I look up to met two pupil-less white eyes. The eyes seem to float in the black shadowy figure. I open my mouth to scream but before any sound can come out it attacks me. The black mist like figure enters my mouth filling it with its dark poison. It feels like I'm choking. I try to scream in vain as it starts to enter my eyes, my nose, ears. It fills my insides. I can't hear, I can't see. I can only feel the pain and see the darkness. As it enters, agony shoots out like a fire. It feels like every single organ is being ripped apart slowly. I try crying, calling, yelling, screaming, but nothing comes out of my mouth. The black mist continues to choke, rip, kill me. _Joel. Lenny. Where are you? Please, help me!_ The only thing I can do is wriggle in pain as the feeling of being ripped apart from the inside out consumes me. _Won't anybody, please save me._

Through the black mist a dim white light glows. I try crying out, hoping it's some kind of help. The small light steadily grows brighter soon filling my vision. I hear someone scream, a woman. And my consciousness seizes.

* * *

Hello everyone! :) So we're back to another view point. Just a reminder, but I will be jumping from different view points throughout the story. Hope you have enjoyed Escaping the Nehan! Until next time...

- _P.V.J_


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

I'm shivering. The pain has subsided, but it's still burning. Every cell of my body feels like it's seconds from ripping in two. The metallic taste of blood trickles onto the floor making a hot trail from my lips to my chin. I know what happened, or what is happening to me. I'm too scared to look. But I know I have to. Slowly, I open my eyes. I stare at my familiar surroundings. I expect to be in the dark cold room, but I'm not. Instead, I'm in the familiar circular room that served as the entrance of my high school. Rain patters onto the high windows. The moon shines brightly. I reach my hand to the railing of the stairs. I stop when I see my arms. The skin on my forearms look like it was peeled away leaving only the muscle showing. Bile gathers in my throat. Clenching my jaw, I keep myself from screaming in pain. The moment I'm standing upright the bile chokes me. I cough and cough, blood spraying every time. The white pristine walls around me are now painted red. I sit right back down and try to catch my breath. Every intake of breath sends a throb of pain to my throat. I close my eyes. I want to collapse. _What happened? Is it possible that, I was only dreaming?_ Doubt and hope mix together. I'm hoping it was just some terrible dream, but… it seemed so real. I carefully got up. As I take a step down something splashes. I look down to see a dark liquid pooled at my feet. A black unknown object floats in the liquid. I pick it up. It's a glob of dripping black hair. I drop it back. It lands without a sound. Looking behind me, I realize that there's black hair everywhere. The small amount of hope starts to slowly diminish. Right now, I'm praying this is some kind of prank by Lenny and Joel. I go down the stairs to see if anyone else is here.

"Lenny? Shelley? Erin? Guys? Are you here?" I wait to hear any response. "Joel? Briella? Any of you here?" My voice comes out like a croak. I wait again for anything. Nothing.

"Come on Lenny. If this is some kind of joke it's not funny." My hope is now close to nothing. The sinking feeling of doubt is filling me up.

"Konnichiwa."

I yelp and spin around so fast I'm left dizzy. The dizziness only lasts for a second. I look at the young girl standing in front of me. I've never seen her before. But I know for a fact she isn't normal. Black eyes peak out of her black oily hair. A red torn dress covers her whitish almost grayish skin. A abnormal blueish aura glows around her. For a moment I'm frozen in terror.

"Ah. AAAAHHHHHH!" I scream. Before I know it I'm sprinting through the hallway passing by the lockers. I just need to make it to the back entrance. Every inch of my body is in agony, but I continue to run like hell. I turn around to see if she followed me. No ones behind me. I face forward.

"AAAHHH!"

The girl stands in front of me. "Why are you running? You should know you can't run from someone like me." She says in Japanese.

She grabs my arms. Searing pain races up them. I scream as I struggle against her. For some reason she's incredibly strong. She lets me go. I stumble backwards. Knowing that she was probably right, I put some distance between us and get into a boxing position. "What the hell do you want?" I growl out in Japanese. I am not about to let some little girl scare me. Or at least, know she scares me.

"Geez, is that how you thank someone when they save your life?"

"What?"

"I saw what happened. So I brought you back to your world?"

I look at the small girl in confusion. "Back to my world?"

"Oh boy," The girl sighs, "When you did the charm incorrectly you and your friends were spirited away to another dimension, a nehan."

My brow furrows, "Nehan?"

"A nehan is a part of the land of the dead put into your reality, this reality."

I stare at her without saying anything. I grip my head in my hands. "You've got to be kidding me," I mutter.

"Well, you're save now, so you don't need to worry."

"Oh, I have a lot to worry about."

I take a few deep breaths. I then glance at the girl. She's waiting for me to calm down.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"Sachiko Shinozaki."

* * *

Hello everyone! :) It's been a while. I will be going back to the regular schedule of one chapter per week. It will be posted either Saturday or Sunday. I'm extremely sorry for the big absences, but it will come to an end. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

"Sachiko?" The name sounds familiar. But where did I hear it before? I make a mental note to ask Briella when I find her. Maybe she heard a ghost story about a ghost with her name.

"Why did you help me?"

Sachiko doesn't answer. A sad look crosses her face. "It's my fault."

"Your fault? Why?"

She doesn't answer again. Unsheathed tears fill up her eyes.

"Why is it your fault?" I ask gently.

"It's a long story." She murmurs.

"I got time."

"Do you?"

I sit down on the floor and wait for her to talk.

She sighs and sits across from me. "A long time ago, mommy was depressed. Daddy just died. She turned to black magic and took a part of the land of the dead and brought it here. She thought that if she did she would be closer to Daddy. But his soul was split apart. Mommy was going to kill herself so I swallowed the Nehan whole into my soul. At my seventh birthday I was killed along with Mommy and the Nehan was released. Years passed and I…" she pauses. "Mommy and I were stuck there. I didn't know who I was. I was just so angry. I…" She bursts into tears.

"Wow, wow, hey, hey." I coo. I move next to her and start patting her back.

"I, I, I killed so many people! It's my fault. I'm so sorry!" She cries.

"Hey, hey. It's okay Sachiko. You didn't mean it. You were just mad. You realize your actions now."

After sobbing for a few more minutes she continues. "Some years ago, a group of teenagers… saved me. Even when I killed some of their friends, they still forgave me. Ever since then I've been trying to help people who have been trapped there."

"That's really kind of you." I say soothingly.

"That's not where the story ends. You see, I was in charge of the Nehan. The Nehan needs someone with a lot of supernatural power to run it otherwise it won't run well. But when they saved me, there was no one. So it started to search for one. They eventually found one. The group came back to destroy this place and save their dead friends. They went through a lot of challenges but they were successful."

"They were?" I couldn't help to interrupt.

"Hold on. I'm explaining! One of the girls from the group destroyed it herself since she was the only one who could do it. You have to have a certain amount of supernatural power to actually destroy that place. When she destroyed it she accidentally swallowed some of the Nehan into her soul. About five years later, the part of the Nehan inside her was released. It grew over time and now it's back to what it was. Or close to what it was. The Nehan doesn't have a person in charge so it isn't as complicated as it was before."

She looks at me, waiting for me to say something.

"Hold on. Give me a minute to suck that all up." I take a deep breath as I try not to freak out. That, of course, is a very difficult task. My head felt like it was going to explode and my vision was getting blurry.

"Okay," I breath out after what felt like an eternity, "I have a few questions."

"Shoot."

"So you help people escape?"

"When I'm powerful enough."

"Powerful enough?" I question.

"I've been losing power slowly. Now I can barely teleport to places. And trust me, that's nothing compared to what I could do back then."

"So what do you do when you don't have enough power?"

"I lead the people away from danger and try to lessen their pain."

"You can't save them?"

"The only way to survive at that place is to get out of there. Other than that there's no way."

"But you saved me?"

"That's because I had enough energy to bring you here. Just bringing you here wore me out."

"Wait! If you don't have enough energy, what will happen to my friends? Are you just going to leave them there?"

Sachiko didn't answer right away.

"You're not just going to leave my friends there, right?"

"I can't do anything else. I'm sorry."

"What? Then why did you choose me out of everyone to save?!"

"Honestly, I was going to save the witch but I think she'll be fine without my help. Plus, she scared me."

 _Witch?_ I thought. I shook my head. "So you're just going to leave them?!"

"I'll lead them away from danger and tend their injuries. That's all I can do."

I turn away from Sachiko. My body's fuming with anger and fear. I can't just leave my friends. They… they won't make it.

I turn back to Sachiko who is looking at me with sad eyes. "Take me back."

She seems to have expected that. "If I bring you back I can't bring you here again."

"Doesn't matter. I can't let my friends die in there."

"Really? Do you really want to go back? Don't you have a family that's waiting for you? Won't they be worried?"

I bristle at the mention of my family.

"I can't leave them there."

"Are you sure. You might not make it out alive?"

I grit my teeth and glare at her. "I. Don't. Care."

Surprise lights the young girl's face. Then she smiles. "You know. I've never meet anyone so passionate to help their friends, except for those teens who saved me. I like you. Okay. If it's really what you want," The smile has disappeared and is replaced with a mournful look. "I will open a portal. It will go back to Heavenly Host Elementary. Once inside you might not see me for a while. Got it?"

I nod. "Wait! Before you open the portal, how did those teenagers escape from Heavenly Host?"

Sachiko tilts her head to the side. "They did the charm backwards. You put all the pieces, or remaining pieces, together and say 'Sachiko, we beg of you' however many people are there plus one."

"Plus one? What do you mean plus one?!"

"You're supposed to count all the people doing the charm and me. Otherwise the charm won't work."

I stand in silence at the new revelation. Briella never said anything about saying it an extra time. A feeling of bitterness slowly creeps up.

"What happens if you do forget to say it an extra time?"

"Well obviously, you'll be cursed and brought to Heavenly Host."

I have no words to say. So she's saying...

"A lot of people forget. That's why they end up here."

"It's not anyone's fault." Sachiko continues after I don't respond. "A long time ago, some time before I was saved, this girl posted the charm instructions incorrectly. And you know how things never go away there."

I shake away any unnecessary anger.

"That's great to know. That method will get me and my friends out, right?"

"Maybe."

"Maybe?!"

"There's a shield surrounding the Nehan. But I'll try to open it for you and your friends."

"Can you?"

"I'm pretty sure I can. When you find all your friends go outside and do the charm. The shield is weaker outside the buildings. Any other questions?"

I shake my head. Sachiko turns her back and lift her hands upwards. Right in front of her, a black slit rips out of nowhere.

"Go, Marie! I'm not sure if I can hold it long!"

I run to the portal. As I reach it I stop. "Thank you Sachiko. For everything you've done."

Before I can hear her answer I cross to the other dimension.

* * *

Hello everyone! Well this chapter is pretty long. And pretty informative if I must say. Sachiko helping a victim? A group of teenagers that saved her? A girl that supposedly destroyed the Nehan? Why is the Nehan still there then?! What's going on? I'm sure you all have questions. If you want to find out what happens stay on the look out for the next update on Saturday or Sunday. Hope you've enjoyed the story so far! :) Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

I'm back in the darkness. A foul scent lingers in the air. The drip drop of blood echoes in the empty room. This is the same room where that thing grabbed me. I look around to see if Sachiko is here. I'm all alone. I run to the door. I am not going to take any chances with that thing. I continue running until I have a few good feet between that room.

I take a moment to sit down and catch my breath. As I sit the pain starts to settle in. The adrenaline has disappeared leaving me tired. I look down at my injured arms.

"What!"

It's healed. Well not fully. Huge scars run down my forearm where the injury was. I could have sworn the skin was completely torn off. The feeling of ice cold hands grabbing me brings me back to Sachiko. She grabbed my arms when she surprised me. Did she heal my arm when she grabbed me? I have to thank her when I see her again.

I get up and start walking around the school. More bodies lay rotting. I swallow the puke down. My hands tremble on it's own.

"Okay, Marie. Calm down. You need to be strong. Those two knuckleheads won't last long if you aren't." I say to myself. I look straight ahead to avoid the corpses. As I continue to walk my thoughts drift to my friends. I hope they're alright. I'm sure they can all handle themselves until I found them. I shake my head thinking to myself. _I hope those two idiots don't do something stupid. Where are they anyway?_

The darkness lingers everywhere. It swallows me up as I continue on my search.

~/~

I have no idea what time it is or how long I've been walking but it feels like hours. I've passed by four rooms in total. All of them we're classrooms, except for the infirmary. Right now, I'm looking for the staircases. Since none of my friends were in any of the rooms they must be downstairs or upstairs. I find one easily near classroom 2-A. But I don't go too far up. They're barely noticeable. Extremely thin wires criss cross across the staircase. There's no way in hell I'm going to be able to pass all of them. I go to the nearest one and touch it. I wince back, clasping my finger. Blood drips from the invisible cut. I stare at them, agitation growing.

"You've got to be kidding me."

A sound catches my attention. I lean as close as I can get without touching the wires.

"Is someone crying?"

I listen for a little longer before going downstairs again. I'm sure the crying was just in my imagination. This place is starting to get to me. Before I exit the staircase the sounds of footsteps catches my attention. I press myself to the wall. The footsteps come closer and closer and…

"JOEL! Where the hell are you?! Don't fuck with me, Joel! Come on man, cut the crap out! Just get your damn ass over here!"

I want to strangle him on the spot. _What is he thinking?!_

I peek out from behind the wall to find Lenny in the middle of the hallway. His back is turned to me and he's not paying much attention to his surroundings. Getting out of my hiding spot I sneak up right behind him. He doesn't even notice. He continues to curse under his breath. Rolling my eyes I tap Lenny's shoulder.

"YAAAGH!" Lenny screams. I let him flail around in a really bad attempt to protect himself.

"Please don't kill me!" He cries out.

"Really? Because you're about to get it from me." I growl at him.

He opens one eye and peaks between a slight crack between his hands.

"What is wrong with you?! What if something or someone heard you? You're yelling so loud that I bet anything in this school could hear you!"

I wait for Lenny to react but all he does is stare at me, his mouth hanging open.

"I can't believe you! Do you have any common-" I stop mid sentence at the feeling of his arms around me.

"Marie, you're...you're alive. I thought that… that." He hugs me tighter burying his head at the nape of my neck. I stand there too shocked to react. My face burns from his contact. _Oh, God. What's going on with me?_

"Le-Lenny, um." I stammer out.

He laughs nervously. "Oh! Sorry." It might be dark, but it looks like he's blushing.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I just... When that thing took you I thought it… that I never would see you again."

"Really?" I say teasingly.

"Don't tell Joel I said that or-"

"Or what?" I challenge.

"Just don't, please."

"Where is Joel anyway?"

"That little bastard ran off. We were looking for you everywhere. And then all of a sudden he just stopped and started saying shit. He was acting weird. And he looked really weird. And then he just ran off laughing like a fucking maniac."

"Well, he has to be here somewhere. Let's go."

Without waiting I head down the hall.

* * *

Yeah! Two people have reunited! :) Now they just need to find the others. But will they find everyone and make it out alive? It's already too late for someone. Find out what happens in the next update. Until next time...

- _P.V.J_


	22. Chapter 22

Chapter 23

"He couldn't have gone that far." I huff out as we walk past another set of doors. "When was the last time you saw him?" I ask Lenny. He's walking beside me, looking behind us once in awhile.

"We were in a classroom. Then he just ran out."

"He just ran out?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"I have no fucking clue. We were looking around the classroom. Next thing I knew he was running out, laughing like a maniac."

"Let's go check that classroom. Kay?"

Lenny nods and leads me to the room. It's just like any other classroom. Well, any other classroom here. Small desks scatter the place. There were many gaps on the floor.

"This place is a mess." I mention.

"No kidding."

"So this is where he was last time?"

"Yup."

"Which direction did he go?"

"I don't know." Lenny cusses under his breath, "That stupid motherfucker. When I see him I'm gonna whoop his ass."

"You better shut your trap before **I** whoop your ass." I snap.

Lenny flinches away from me.

"Let's go. There's nothing here." I lead the way out of the room. I stop short when I hear it.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper to Lenny.

"What?"

"YAAAHAHAHAHA!"

We turn to the direction of the deranged laugh.

"What the fuck was that?" Lenny asks.

"No idea. But, did it sound familiar to you?"

Lenny turns to give me a weird look. "Why the hell would that sound familiar?"

"HAAAAHAHAHAAA!"

"Come on." I walk toward the laughs.

"What?! Are you crazy?! That's one of the mistakes they make in horror movies!"

I ignore him and continue walking. Lenny's footsteps pound on the floor as he catches up to me. The laughs lead us to a set of stairs. The darkness of this place swallows the person, making it impossible to see them. I get out my phone and use its light to see in the dark. We gasp simultaneously.

"You son of a bitch!" Lenny screams.

Lenny runs down the stairs, taking the steps two at a time. I go after him, making sure not to fall.

"Joel, do you know how fucking worried I was?! I can't believe you!" Lenny yells at Joel.

Joel doesn't answer. He just stares at the wall, giggling.

"Joel? You okay?" I ask. There's something wrong, but that's kinda obvious. I adjust the lighting in my phone and shine it onto Joel's face. Lenny covers his eyes with his hands. Joel on the other hand doesn't even flinch. He continues to stare at the wall.

"Shit, Marie. Is that thing in full blast?"

I nod and look back at Joel. He doesn't blink. He's saying something, but it's so garbled that I have no idea what it is. I shine the light directly into his eyes. He still doesn't move.

"Hey Joel, what's wrong?"

He doesn't answer. Lenny grabs Joel's shoulder from behind, turns him around, and slaps him hard. I jump back in surprise, wincing at how hard it sounded. Lenny grabs him again and begins shaking him.

"Snap out of it! Damn! What the hell is wrong with you?!"

I wait for Joel to say something. He just stares at us, his big blue eyes glassy. Looking closely I see his pupils were the size of a pea. I hold my ground as a wave of unease settles in.

"Come on the both of you. Let's go upstairs. It feels weird here." I grab both Joel and Lenny's hand. I almost draw back from Joel. His skin is awfully cold. We reach the top of the stairs. I turn back to the two boys. Lenny is staring at Joel a mixture of worry and annoyance on his face. Joel stares at nothing with his wide eyes.

"Okay, seriously Joel. This isn't funny. Whatever game you're playing it's over," I give my best glare. He keeps on staring. He slowly starts to grin, a large wide smile that makes me want to take a few steps away from him.

"There's something wrong with him." Lenny whispers.

We both stare at Joel waiting for him to turn back to normal. He just continues to smile creepily.

I open my mouth to say something, but… the floors shifts under us. It shakes slowly. In a few seconds though I'm struggling to stand.

"Marie! Get down!" Lenny screams at me. I howl in pain as he grabs my arms and presses me against the wall. He shields me from the falling debris and planks of wood. He's so close I can see his brown eyes clearly in this dark world. I can feel his breath near my face. I can also feel my flushed face as I try to look anywhere but at him.

A loud thud catches my attention. I look at the direction of the noise. Under a plank, Joel lays on the floor. Blood spills from an open wound at the side of his head.

"Joel!" I choke out.

Lenny looks at the same direction. "JOEL!"

* * *

Hello everyone. I've been trying to make these chapters longer. Although I don't think this chapter is as long as I like. I'll be trying to make the next chapters longer so this story doesn't have too much chapters. Hopefully you have been enjoying this story so far. What happens next? You'll have to find out next week. :) Until next time...

- _P.V.J_


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

We both look on knowing we couldn't do anything until the earthquake is over.

"My fucking God." Lenny hisses.

His face is contorted in anger and sadness. Tears well up in his eyes. The earthquake slowly stops. The second the ground ceases Lenny runs to Joel.

"Joel! JOEL!" Lenny shakes Joel violently, trying to wake him up. While he did that I check his pulse.

"Don't worry. He's alive."

Lenny doesn't stop shaking Joel. "JOEL! Come on. WAKE UP!" He literally screams into Joel's ears. I tug Lenny away whacking him on the head.

"You can blow his eardrums if you do that." I scold.

"Really? That's what you're worried about. What if he doesn't wake up? What if he slowly dies from the blood loss? What if his cut is infected?"

A low groan catches our attention. We both lean over Joel. His blue eyes flutter slowly.

"Ow," Joel mutters. He sits up slowly, clutching the side of his head.

"How you feeling?" I ask concerned.

"You son of a bitch!" Lenny hugs him so tight, it looks like he's choking.

"Dude! Let go of me. I can't breath," Joel says.

"Opps. Sorry," Lenny releases Joel.

"Are you crying?"

"What?! No! I, just have something in my eye."

"Uh-huh. Wait, what's going on?"  
"You don't remember?" I ask.

Joel looks at me shocked. He stares at me without saying a word.

"Um, hello?"

"Marie! You're alive! We thought that you were dead!"

"Wow, thanks." I say sarcastically.

"Dude! What the hell's wrong with you?!" Lenny shouts.

Joel gives him a confused look. "What? Did I do something?"

"Did you do something? Did you do something?! Yes you fucking did! You were acting all bat shit crazy!"

"And you apparently ran off," I add in.

"Yeah!" Lenny agrees.

"I did?"

Lenny opens his mouth to continue his rant. I hold up my hand to signal him to stop.

"You don't remember that?" I ask.

Joel shakes his head. "I have no idea what you guys are talking about. I just remember looking for you and… nothing."

Lenny and I share a look.

"You probably don't remember what happened because of that plank." Lenny thought aloud.

"Plank?" Joel is just getting more confused.

"You were knocked out by a falling plank during the earthquake." I say to ease his confusion.

"Earthquake? There was another one?" Joel shakes his head. "Doesn't matter," he continues. "How did you find Marie?"

"Oh no, I found Lenny." I correct. "He was making such a racket it was impossible to not hear him."

"But how?"

"I'll explain later. Right now we need to find everyone else."

"Yeah, we better get going," Lenny agrees.

Lenny and I help Joel get up.

"Oh shit man. You're bleeding."

Joel removes his hand from his head. Blood covers his whole hand. "It's just a cut. I'll live."

"You okay? Feel any pain?" I ask.

"I'm fine. Just a little dizzy."

Once on his feet we start walking. Lenny and Joel chat with each other. I stay behind them. They act like their usual selves. It's amazing how just a couple of hours ago we were just hanging out. Now, we're here. But, I guess old things don't go away. The two are laughing like nothing's wrong. A small smile forms onto my expression. Even in dark situations they're still there for each other.

As my thoughts wander to my missing friends I hear a cry. I stop in my tracks. It's the same crying as I had heard on the staircase.

Joel notices I'm not following anymore. "Hey Marie? Something wrong?"

"Did you hear that?" I ask them.

"Hear what?" Lenny asks.

"Shh!" I hiss motioning for them to be quiet.

They stop talking and listen. With the silence surrounding us it's easier to hear the crying. It isn't a cry of pain, but of woe, of lost. Honestly, I would have preferred a cry of pain over this. Something about the person's despair punches me in the gut.

"I hear it now." Lenny whispers.

"It's coming from upstairs. Let's check it out." Joel says.

"Can't. I think both stairs are busted." I inform.

"Plus, what if it's a trap?"

"A trap? From who?"

"Um, I don't know. Maybe a ghost! Or a monster!"

"That only happens in horror movies, Lenny," Joel assures.

"Really? Because what's going on around here is not normal! And is this a god damn horror movie?! Nah! it ain't!"

"Yelling about it isn't going to help. In fact, it's just going to get us killed." I snap.

"Okay you two," Joel chides, "Let's just see if there's a way to get upstairs." He starts walking. I follow while Lenny mutters behind me. We head to the stairs where I had found Lenny.

"We can't go there. There was a bunch of wires blocking the way." I warn.

"Wires?" Lenny asks.

"Well, let's just check it out." Joel continues on walking.

I sigh and follow. "I'm telling you it's blocked."

"Really? I don't see anything."

"They're wires, Joel. They're going to be hard to see."

Lenny shines his phone toward the stairs. "I don't see anything." I stare gaping at the empty stairs. Even with the shine of Lenny's light, not a glimpse of metal is seen. I walk up to the stairs and carefully stick my finger forward. It doesn't get cut.

Joel turns to me. "I thought you said it was blocked?"

"It was." I'm utterly confused. For some reason I feel absolutely scared. I was able to act brave in front of death. But this...this is like an awakening. The cries of immortal sorrow reverberate through the walls. It was like a bad dream, a nightmare. But I finally realize, I'm not going to wake up from this. How was I going to save my friends? Sure, I knew how. But can we really get back home with everyone together?

"Well, looks like it's not. Come on," Joel says. There's an uneasy note in his voice.

I grab his arm. "Wait, what if it's a trap? What if it's something else?" I look between the two. "What then?"

"Now you agree with me." Lenny says sarcastically. I glare at him.

Joel gives me a serious look. "You run like hell."

"Yeah, sounds about right." Lenny snorts.

I roll my eyes, "Whatever." I head upstairs with the boys following. Every step up, the sinking feeling grows more. Something inevitable is up there and it's bad. I can feel it.

~/~

I cry and cry unable to stop the pain in my heart from overtaking me. It's all my fault. My fault we're here. My fault Erin's dead. I have no idea how long I've been here next to his corpse crying and crying. I can't stop. How, how is this happening? **Why** is this happening? Just a few hours ago we were all having fun. I was laughing with all my friends. Erin held my hand the whole time. His warmth surged through my hand. Now, he's laying here, his body parts ripped apart from each other. I let out a scream. Can someone, please save us? Just wake me up from this nightmare. Please, I can't take it anymore. Please, save me.

* * *

Okay, as promised this chapter is longer. It looks like things are about to get interesting, too. Hopefully you have enjoyed so far. Look out for another update every Saturday or Sunday...although I due tend to update other days too. :) Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	24. Chapter 24

Chapter 24

As soon as we reach the third floor an agonizing scream rings from inside the closest room. We cautiously walk to the door. Or where the door should have been. The door is knocked out of its hinges and now lays on the floor.

"Is this a bathroom?" Lenny asks. Stalls are stationed inside. There are sinks and mirrors to go with it.

"Must be." Joel whispers into our ears.

The crying is definitely coming from this room. In the very back there is a person hunched over, sobbing. By the looks and sound, it's a girl. She's quieter now than she was before. She must have heard someone coming. I share a look with Joel and Lenny, deciding if we should confront her. Having no sign that they wanted to I cautiously walk to the girl. The floors creak underneath our feet alerting the girl of our presence. She cries out and recoils away from us, as if expecting someone to attack. She turns around. Green eyes wild with fear looks up at me.

"Briella?"

"Marie? Marie! Oh my God!" Briella attempts to stand up from her sitting position but falls back down. When she falls she starts to cry harder. Her sobs are a mixture of sorrow and relief. She buries her face in her hands trying to stifle her crying. We all rush to her.

"Briella, are you okay? Are you hurt?" Joel bombards her with questions.

She doesn't answer his questions. "I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry. It's all my fault. It's all my fault. I'm so sorry." She continues repeating these words as she sobs even louder.

"No shit." Lenny mutters under his breath sarcastically. I punch him straight in the stomach. He hunches over.

"What was that for?!" he gasps.

I grab his collar and bring him closer to my face. I hear him gulp. "You say something like that again and I'll really give you a reason to run like hell. Got it?"

Lenny nods timidly. I let go and put my attention back to Briella. Joel is patting her back trying to calm her down. I move in front of her so I can get a better look at her. I tap her hands so she knows to move them away from her face. She does and I take her face in my hands. Her eyes are puffy from all the crying. Her makeup is smudged everywhere. Her red long curly hair is all tangled up. Ignoring her obvious disheveled shelf I check both sides of her face for any scratches or cuts. There's nothing.

"Briella, what's wrong?" I ask.

This just makes her cry even more. "I'm so sorry," I repeat.

"Briella, why don't we get you somewhere cleaner. It stinks in here," Joel suggests.

"Yeah, it stinks in here. It must be the guys' bathroom," Lenny jokes.

I snort at that. Joel holds in his laugh. But Briella doesn't even acknowledge the joke. She just continues to cry and apologize.

The bad feeling that I had accumulated disappeared when I saw Briella. But now, it's slowly coming back stronger than before. Something's wrong. Very wrong.

"Let's get you up, Briella," Joel says as he takes one of her arms.

"No!" she screams.

We're all taken aback.

Lenny is the first to continue our persuasion, "Come on Briella. We can get you all cleaned up outside."

"I think there might be another dead body inside here," Joel says while looking around.

"It sure smells like it," I comment.

Briella suddenly starts crying even more.

"Briella?" I want to ask her what's wrong but I knew she wouldn't answer me.

"Ah," Lenny squeaks. And then, "AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" He stumbles backward and falls down on his butt.

"Wow, dude. What's wrong?" Joel asks alarmed.

Lenny doesn't answer. His dark skin is unnaturally pale, his dark brown eyes wide with pure horror. With a shaky finger he points at something behind us to the shadows. He lets out another squeak and faints.

"LENNY!" Joel screams. He rushes to his side. I stay next to Briella.

"Hey, just ignore Lenny. You know him. He's such a big baby," I say trying to comfort her.

"Jeez, he fainted," Joel announces.

"See, a big baby."

"What exactly was he pointing at?" Joel asks to no one in particular.

Joel checks Lenny's pulse. After making sure Lenny is in fact breathing, Joel moves right next to me. We both look into the shadows. Obscured in the dark, a body, or some body parts, lays on the floor. A few inches behind Briella, Joel, and me is a head. Just a head, unattached to it's body. I scrunch my nose in disgust wondering why Briella was next to that thing. That's when I recognize the face. The brown short hair, the grey eyes, I knew exactly who this was. I freeze while Joel screams and scoots away from the head.

"WHAT! IS THAT…?!" We both look at Briella waiting for her to say it's not true.

Her sobs are our answer. I stare at the head, my brain not processing this. It slowly comes to me. My stomach contorts. I cover my mouth to keep from vomiting. I turn away from Erin's decapitated head.

"Oh my God. This can't be happening," Joel voice quavers. He presses his back to the wall and takes deep breathes.

I squeeze my eyes shut and will myself to calm down. I need to be strong. I need to get everyone out of here. With everyone breaking down, someone needs to be the strong one. I take a few shaky breaths and open my eyes.

Joel is still breathing in shock. Tears run down his cheeks. He looks seconds away from fainting. Briella cries next to me saying over and over again, "I'm so sorry. It's all my fault."

I go up to Briella and take her shoulders. "Briella, it's not your fault. None of it is. You had no idea this would happen." She continues to cry ignoring my reassurance.

"Erin…" I stop myself from referring Erin in the past tense. It hits me again like a punch in the face. I shake it off and push down the fact that he's gone… really gone. "Erin doesn't want you to blame yourself." I continue. This catches her attention. "He doesn't want you to be crying here forever. He wants you to survive no matter what. He wants you to live. But to do that you need to be strong. We need you to continue on with us. Because if you don't we'll never get out of here." I pause, letting what I said sink in. "Can you do that?"

Tears stroke down Briella's face. Little whimpers escape her mouth. She sits still for awhile, but she finally nods.

"You're right," she whispers. I pat her shoulder and help her up.

"Don't worry, Briella. We'll make it out of here alive." I comfort.

She nods.

I walk over to Joel, "Hey, Joel. You okay?"

He still looks like he's in shock. His body is shaking violently.

"Joel?" I lightly hit his shoulder. He jumps at the contact. "We're going outside."

"Yeah. Okay."

"Help me get weak bone."

Joel wipes his eyes, shakily gets up, and helps me pick up Lenny. We each take an arm and sling it over our shoulders.

"Come on Briella. We have to go." I tell her softly.

She stares at what was left of Erin, her tears starting to pick up speed.

"We can come back later." Joel soothes, "But right now we have to find Shelley."

We wait for Briella to follow us. She stands in her place for a moment. Then, with a whimper she follows us out the bathroom door.

* * *

Okay, finally done. I want to apologize for the late chapter. This is a little late than usual. I've been sick for the past week, so couldn't post. Oh well, it's posted now. I will definitely post on time (or a little late) on the next chapter. Well, until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	25. Chapter 25

Chapter 25

*Briella's POV

We all sit on the stairs. Once they carried Lenny out we wait for him to wake up. I sink down onto the ground, hugging my legs to my chest. I can't help it. I can't help the tears from coming. Glancing at Marie I can tell she's trying to hold herself together. Joel stays near Lenny, still visibly shocked. It takes a while, but Lenny woke up after a while. We don't go to find Shelley immediately. Even though Lenny's awake, he's still in shock. We don't say anything. There is nothing to say, nothing that can make it better. Marie sits quietly against the opposite wall. Joel and Lenny sit next to each other. I sit watching them, tears still falling. My eyes feel heavy, but it's nothing compared to the emotions inside.

Joel looks around nervously and speaks, "I can't believe this is happening."

I bite my lips to keep in a sob. Lenny nods stiffly. Marie doesn't say anything.

It's all my fault. Everything that's happened, all my fault. A small sob escapes me unnoticed.

I feel something on my shoulder.

Looking up, I see Marie looking down at me. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

"Yeah, I mean it's not like you knew this would happen," Joel adds in.

Lenny sighs heavily. "I know I said if this ever happened," he says slowly, "you will not hear the end of it. But…" he pauses and scratches his neck. "I can't believe this is happening."

It's obvious that he's still in shock. He runs his hand over his face.

"It's almost like we're in a horror movie. Earlier I was screaming like those dumb people do in horror movies. 'JOEL! JOEL!'" Lenny jokes.

I'm taken aback. I expect him to be yelling and crying, but instead he's smiling. Although it is strained.

"And the dark room. 'It's dark and I can't see a single damn thing. Let's go inside!" he shakes his head, "If I knew I was going to be this stupid I would have watched more horror movies so I would know what not to do."

Joel chuckles, "You? Watch a horror movie? That would be a miracle."

"Like you watch horror movies."

"I watch horror movies everyday."

"Yeah, under the blankets with all the lights on and maybe with your mommy."

"A lot better than you. The second you see anything scary you'll run screaming for your life."

I feel the smallest of smiles forming on my lips. Before Lenny can retaliate Marie cuts in.

"Okay, you two dumbos. It looks like you're absolutely fine. Let's move on it. We need to find Shelley, remember?"

"Right. Let's get going!" Joel grabs Lenny's arm and pulls him up. He drags Lenny down the stairs while Lenny screams for him to slow down.

Marie groans. "Ugh, dummies. Let's go before they get themselves killed."

I nod and follow Marie down the stairs.

We search the whole entire second floor, but there's absolutely no sign of her. We check every hallway, every room, every crock. Well, we check one side of the second floor. Marie refuses to go down one of the hallways. She might not be there, but what if she is?

"Damn, where is that girl?" Lenny curses under his breath.

"Do you think Shelley's even here?" I ask hopefully.

"Well, she did the charm so I'm guessing she's somewhere around here," Joel answers.

"Yeah, she has to be here. Right?" Lenny says.

"Definetly," Marie looks around, "This is only the second floor. We haven't checked the first floor yet. She must be down there."

"Okay, let's go then."

"Wait!" Marie calls out before we can go, "Do you guys think we should split up? We'll cover more ground if we do."

Lenny's mouth drops, "Are you crazy?! That's how everything bad happens! Have you not seen any horror movies? They fuckin' split up and bam! Everyone's dead!"

"Oh would you calm down! I was just suggesting! Plus, I thought you didn't watch horror movies."

"I don't need to watch horror movies to know that splitting up is a classic mistake."

"Lenny has a point," Joel interrupts.

"Yeah, I'm with Lenny on this," I agree feebly.

"Okay. Fine, we'll stick together. Let's just hurry up, find Shelley, and get out of here," Marie says

"Yeah, let's get the hell out of here," Lenny grabs Joel's arm and starts running, "Haha! Pay back time!"

Joel laughs while he complains about his arm.

"Ugh, I can't believe I'm friends with those idiots." Marie groans.

I smile lightly. "They know how to make a situation like this funny." We both follow the boys.

We reach the first floor. We're about to search when we're stopped in our tracks.

"Fuck," Lenny cusses.

"Great, we'll never cross this gap. It's so huge," Joel claims.

"It must have been from the earthquake," Marie states.

"How are we getting across?" I ask.

In our path is a hole so big it's about the size of a small classroom.

"We could look for a plank. There were a lot of them upstairs," Joel suggests.

"Yeah, but do you really think there's a plank that long?" Marie counters.

"Plus, there's no way in hell I'm crossing that gap with just a small plank. Naw ah. Ain't happening," Lenny says.

As they continue to discuss our options I hear the sound of something shifting. It's soft, almost inaudible.

"Did you hear that?" I whisper.

"Hear what?" Joel asks.

I motion for everyone to be quiet. We fall to silence as we strain our ears to listen. A small moan from the darkness beyond the gap disrupts the silence.

The air between us becomes still. I glance over at my friends. Lenny looks ready to run. Joel's pale with fright. Marie looks curiously toward the gap. She walks to the very edge of the gap.

"What are you doing?" Joel asks cautiously.

"I think I can see something across here," Marie answers.

After a second of thinking, Joel steps next to Marie. I share a look with Lenny.

'They're crazy.' he mouths. I nod in agreement.

Lenny sighs and strolls next to them. Swallowing my fear I stand beside my friends.

In the darkness across the gap, there's nothing.

"What is that?" Lenny asks.

"What's what?" I question.

"There's something on the floor. Near the gap. It's like right next to it."

"There is something!" Joel gasps.

I squint as if it would help me see what's in the darkness. Shrouded in night lays something on the floor. It looks exactly like the corpses we passed by. I cover my mouth to keep the yelp inside.

"I...It…" I stammer.

A groan, louder than the first, echoes in the still darkness. We all go silent again. Without saying a word, Joel takes out his phone and sets it to flashlight. He points it to the direction of the noise. Under the dim light a corpse lays. There are multiple wounds, but we're too far to see properly. One thing we can see clearly is the blood. It collects underneath the corpse, forming a puddle that looks almost black instead of red. The black liquid made a small stream from the puddle to the side of the gap where it dripped down to the bottom. What happens to people here, it's horrible.

Another groan echoes in the shrouded hallway. I hold my breath. Where was it coming from? Another groan… and it moves. The corpse lifts an arm to get up. It slowly raises it's head, black hair covering it's face. From in between the cracks of hair, one wide midnight eye stares at us. We stand there in horror.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" We all scream.

Lenny rushes away to the stairs, Joel and Marie following. I turn to catch up with them.

"Wait!" a voice calls out. It's pained and rusty, like it has been screaming for far too long. But most importantly, it's familiar. I stop on my tracks.

"Please, don't leave me here. Briella," It chokes out.

Looking back at what I thought was a corpse, I now see that it isn't. She's breathing, she's alive, but barely.

"Sh..Shel...Shelley?" I stammer out in horror.

Shelley nods in agony. Her black hair that's drenched, colors her face with the lurid color of blood. She wipes it away with scarlet hands. She puts both hands on the pool under her and tries to push herself up. She cries out and falls on her side. It didn't take a genius to see she's very injured.

"Wait. Wait here Shelley! I'm getting the others!" I yell.

With a glimpse toward her I run to the stairs.

"Briella!" Marie's voice reverberates to me.

"Marie!" I scream at the top of my lungs.

Pounding rings from upstairs. In seconds, all three are standing just a few steps down the stairs.

"Briella! Hurry up and get over here!" Lenny shrieks.

"It's Shelley!"

"What?!" Joel shouts.

"The corpse. It's Shelley!"

"No," Devastation racks Marie's face.

"She's still alive!" I continue.

"She is?!" Lenny barks. Hope brims back to my friends' face.  
"Well, what are we waiting for?!" Marie runs down the stairs. I don't wait for the other two. I run alongside Marie to the gap. I grab my phone and shine it at Shelley to help us see. She grunts at the bright light.

"Shelley? Is that you?!" Marie yells.

"Marie?" Shelley croaks. She's still on the ground but is trying to get up again.

"What happened to you?!""

"I got attacked."

Joel and Lenny reach the gap. "Oh my God, Shelley!" Joel shouts in a mixture of relief and horror.

"Okay. Hold on Shelley. We'll come and get you!" Marie yells.

"How?" Lenny asks.

We all wait for Marie's answer. "There must be another set of stairs. There were two different stairs for the third floor. There must be another stairs connecting the first and second floor."

"Okay." Joel hums.

"We'll be right there, Shelley! Don't worry!" Lenny shouts.

We don't waste anytime.

* * *

They found Shelley! Yay! :) But what happened to her...? Now that everyone's together (sort of), will they actually make it out alive? If you want to find out stay tuned for the next update. I **try** to post every Saturday or Sunday, but...sometimes it doesn't work out. But I do post once a week. I make that a priority. Thank you all for reading! Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	26. Chapter 26

Chapter 26

We run to the other side of the second floor. We had avoided that area. Why? I had no idea. As we went closer to the other side I notice Marie getting paler. Her hands are in fists as if to control herself.

"You okay, Marie?" I ask.

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine. Let's just hurry." She walks faster. I continue walking, without asking anymore questions. Soon we reach a staircase leading downward.

"Perfect! Now, let's hurry," Joel cheers.

We all race down the stairs, Marie and Joel in the lead. We run down the halls, past the many corpses laying on the ground. It's just one long hallway. We reach the end of the hall. The gap is just ahead. And Shelley is on her feet trying to stay standing. We all run to her. The stomping of our feet alerts her of our arrival. Marie and Joel are the first to reach her.

"What are you doing?!" Marie shrieks as she steadies Shelley before she falls.

"I can stand," Shelley says in her soft voice. "It just hurts."

I'm in total lost of words. Shelley's body is almost completely covered in blood. She's shaking and ready to collapse. _She isn't going to make it._ The thought enters my mind before I can even stop it. I shake my head. No, I have to stay positive. With all of us helping Shelley I'm sure she can walk around.

"Shit Shelley. The hell happened to you?" Lenny asks.

"I got attacked," She simply repeats.

Joel takes Shelley's other side. He tries to take her left arm but she immediately howls in pain. Joel jumps backs. "Where exactly are you hurt?"

Shelley delicately cradles her arm while Marie keeps a hand on her shoulder."My left arm, right leg, head, and hip."

"Like cut or stabbed?" Lenny drawled.

"Stabbed, except for my head."

I feel useless. I keep on making mistakes. That's why we're all here. "Is there anything I can do?" I wince at the question, but I couldn't think of anything else to say.

Shelley cocks her head to the side. "No. Thank you though." She gives her genuine smile. My heart clenches. How could she smile at me when all of this is my fault? She's hurt because of me. Erin… it's all my fault.

"We should at least take you to the infirmary," Joel says.

I wipe away the tears before anyone could see. I have to stay strong. I can't make anymore mistakes.

"Ah, Hell NO! We ain't going back there," Lenny says defiantly.

"Yeah, we can't go there," Marie looks anxious for some reason, "That thing is there."

"What thing?" I can't help but ask.

Everyone looks at me. "Right, you weren't there," Joel muses.

"What are you talking about?" Shelley croaks.

"It's a long story, but right now we need to find something to stop the bleeding. There might be bandages."

"It's too risky." Marie has turned pale again. Her arms are crossed in front of her, fists clenched.

"Really? So you want her to just bleed to death?" Joel hisses.

"Dude. Chill, no need to get dark," Lenny snaps.

"No, but Joel's right," I add, "If it's an infirmary then there should be bandages or maybe some ointment. Something!"

Marie shakes her head. Before she could say anything Joel cuts her.

"Okay, how about this? Briella and I will go to the infirmary and search it. You guys can stay here with Shelley."

"Bruh! I thought we discussed this. We ain't separating!" Lenny whines.

"Well do you want to carry her up the stairs?"

"I can handle it," Shelley reassures softly.

"Are you sure?" Marie asks skeptically.

Shelley nods.

"I'll help you up the stairs. And don't push yourself," Marie advices Shelley, "Lenny's right. We can't split up now. Whatever did this to Shelley is still in here. We need to stick together." Marie addresses all of us.

Shelley turns away, but I see...something. Was that a smirk? No, I think I see a look of sadness in her eyes.

When no one talks I speak up, "So everyone okay with that?"

They all nod.

"Great. We better get going," Joel and I go ahead to make sure there isn't anything on the way. Lenny and Marie help Shelley walk just a few steps behind us. Once we reach the steps we all help Shelley. She waves at us, mumbling she's fine and won't need all of our help. But none the less we all help her. We reach the second floor.

"We'll stay here," Marie announces, "You guys go on ahead."

"Okay," Joel says and we both continue without them.

"You know where the infirmary is?" I ask.

"Yeah, we all woke up in there," Joel answers. He leads the way to a door. A dark and dreading energy emanates from the room.

"Is it just me or does this room just feel, wrong?" I ask.

"Nope, there's definitely something wrong. That's why we're going to just get in and get out," he opens the doors.

"I thought you said that we're searching the place?"

"We are. You take that side. I'll take this side."

I start looking near the windows. Joel is hurriedly looking, throwing planks and debris out of his way. I ignore the ruckus he's making and continue searching. Near the windows is a small closet. I open it and go through the contents. Small bottles containing strange liquids line the inside. Moving aside the bottles, I look at the very back for anything. I find some alcohol.

"Found alcohol," I call out.

"Great. Continue looking," Joel continues looking near the beds now, throwing off the pillows and covers.

I continue searching too. It didn't take long to find what we were here for.

"Found bandages!"

"Seriously?" Joel walks to me. I hand him the bandages. He sighs. "This might not be enough."

"We could just use the bed sheets," I suggest.

"But how clean is it?" Joel counters.

"It's looks pretty clean. It's better than nothing, right?"

At that moment, something falls to the floor with a thud. I yelp and jump behind Joel.

Joel talks, "Okay, the bed sheets it is." He basically runs to the bed sheets and rips it out. "Help me carry that one."

I take the second bed sheet. He motions for me to hurry. We run out the door toward the stairs.

* * *

Shelley's safe! Well, sort of. Now that everyone's together, do they actually have a chance of making it out alive? You'll just have to find out. Until next time...

- _P.V.J_


	27. Chapter 27

Chapter 27

When we are near the stairs Marie and Lenny and steadying Shelley. Shelley's leaning against the wall, her blood coloring it. Her eyes are drooping, her body going limp. I can hear Marie encouraging her and Lenny telling her jokes to keep her awake. None of them seem to work. Marie and Lenny look up when we're near.

"Found some bandages," I huff.

"Great! Let's hurry and take Shelley to a room." Marie hauls Shelley up. She yelps in pain.

"Come on, Shelley. We're just going to walk a little. Come on," Lenny cooes gently.

"You can do it, Shelley." I say as I bend down a little so I can see her eyes, "If we don't get you to a room, you're going to bleed…" The word chokes up in my mouth and I need a second to regain my composure. "You're going to faint. Just try walking for a little."

She doesn't respond. Honestly, I didn't even know if she's awake or not.

"Sorry," Shelley whispers, "I just needed to catch my breath." She grits her teeth and tries her best to stand up straight.

"We're just going to move to a safer place. Then you can rest as long as you like," Joel reassured.

Shelley nods.

"Kay, how bout' we go to the one near the other stairs?" When we don't answer Lenny continues, "The other stairs going to the third floor."

"I think that's the closest one. Let's hurry," Marie says.

We walk, searching for any small holes or delicate spots. Joel and I lead the way alerting the others of anything suspicious. Lenny and Marie help Shelley walk. She's limping heavily on her right side. Her face is twisted with pain. We need to hurry and wrap her bandages. It takes a while but we finally reach the room Lenny was talking about. We close the door behind us. Joel and I lay out what we got while Marie and Lenny find a place for Shelley to rest.

"Uuummm..." I drawl, "Does anyone know how to dress a wound."

Marie lifts her hand. "Come on, Briella. You should know that I know this stuff."

"You do?" Lenny questions.

"How do you think I wrap the bandages after every single wrestling match?"

Marie motions for Joel to come. He follows and takes Marie's spot. She comes over to the equipment and studies them.

Marie sighs, "Well, it's better than I expected." She shuffles through the bandages and sheet covers, laying it out individually. Then, she counts them. "Four," She mutters, "But not big enough." Marie takes one bed sheet and rips it in half. Then half again. She nods to herself.

"You two, out now," she commands, turning to the boys.

"Wait, what?" Joel asks confused.

"Wait, you just can't…" Lenny starts when Marie grabs their arms.

"There is no way I'm letting you two watch as I put on the bandages."

"You're just putting bandages!" Joel yells.

"Yeah, under her clothes," Marie retorts. What Marie meant dawns on the boys.

"Oooohhh… Why you kicking us out?" Lenny jokes.

Marie growls in outrage. "Pervert!" She pushes the boys out of the room and slams the door shut.

Taking a deep breath she goes back to the bandages. "Okay Briella. I'm going to need your help putting on these bandages."

"Will we really need to take of her clothes?" I ask hesitating.

"No, not really. Maybe just roll up her sleeves and lower her skirt a little."

"For the arm and hip?"

"Yeah. Although we might need to cut the sleeve depending if we can roll up the sleeve that far."

"Okay."

I let Marie finish up her thing and look at Shelley. Her head is swaying slightly as she tries to stay awake. A minute more and she will definitely pass out.

"So Shelley," I hesitantly start, "I know you might not understand me, but what do you think about the new proposal for the school? It's pretty cool isn't it." I didn't know what to do, so I did the best thing I could do. Talk.

"Next semester, we're getting new art tools. Isn't that great! Now, we'll have-"

"She still awake?" Marie cuts in.

"Barely," I answer.

"Don't worry. I know just how to wake her up." Marie comes over with a small piece of the sheet that's dripping with alcohol. "Sorry Shelley, but this might hurt a lot." Marie pulls up Shelley's straight bangs. She motions for me to hold up her long black hair. I gently grab her hair and Marie dabs the alcohol drenched sheet onto Shelley's cut. Shelley screams and jerks away.

Marie grabs her arm. "Stay still Shelley. I need to clean the wound."

"Ow," she whines.

"Oh, Shelley you awake?" I ask.

"Uh-huh," she nods slightly. She grits her teeth while Marie continues to dab the cover on her cut.

"It's not too deep. That's good," Marie comments. She finishes cleaning the wound and takes out the bandage she stuck in her pocket. She lays it to cover the wound and wraps the bandage around her head. Once she's done she goes back to the other supplies.

"Still awake?" I ask.

She nods.

"That woke you up?"

She nods again.

We stay quiet for a while. Shelley's eyes are alert now.

I bite my lip to keep in the question. But my curiosity gets the best of me. "What happened? Who did this to you, Shelley?"

She doesn't answer me. As seconds pass without her answering I thought she didn't hear me.

"I don't know," She says simply. I don't say anything. She looks sincere, but something about her expression just doesn't seem right.

Marie comes back with another bandage. "Okay, where do you want me to start. Leg, hip, or arm?"

"Um actually. My leg doesn't need any wrappings. I already found a wrap for it." Shelley responds.

"You sure? You were limping quite heavily." I point out.

"My hip. It really, really hurts."

"Yeah, your arm and hip look terrible." Marie examines Shelley's arm. "Were you stabbed?"

Shelley pauses, "I don't know."

Marie lifts Shelley's arm gently. She gasps, "Your arm…"

"What is it?" I ask when Marie doesn't continue.

"You're arm's been stabbed through!" Marie looks at Shelley. "What happened to you?"

Shelley shakes her head, her brows knitted. "I don't know. I don't remember."

"What do you remember?"

Shelley stays silent as her brows knitts even more. "I remember running," She slowly says, "And then almost falling into that hole. After that… nothing."

I share a look with Marie. Whatever did this to her could still be out there. Was it the same guy or thing that… Erin. Feeling the tears come again I turn away from my friends. I cover my mouth with my dirty hands.

"Briella, are you okay?" Shelley asks with concern.

I nod and smile. I need to be brave so we can get out of here. But…how?

Marie pats my shoulder comfortingly. She doesn't say anything. Shelley looks between the both of us with worry, but she doesn't ask the obvious question on her mind.

"I'm doing your arm." Marie announces.

Shelley nods and gets ready for the inevitable pain. Marie quickly puts on the bandage while Shelley tried hard not to scream. She's clasping the wood right under her and biting down hard on her collar. Tears slowly make their way down her cheek. Marie finishes and quickly goes back to the other bandages and readies the next set.

Shelley makes a noise of pain.

"You okay?" I ask.

She nods, though her shaky posture tells me otherwise. She's hunched over clutching her arm.

Marie rushes back. "Now, your hips. I'm going to need you to stand." Marie looks at me. "Briella, help her up."

"Got it!" I respond.

I help Shelley stand up slowly. The moment she stood up I can see how bad her hip and leg are. Her right leg was covered with blood. Her white knee high socks were now stained a nasty red from the blood still dripping down. At the side of her hip blood spills rapidly forming an almost black stain on her skin, shirt, and skirt. That wound for sure was deep. Really deep.

"Shit." Marie mutters.

"Is it that bad?" Shelley groaned softly.

"No!" I reassure immediately. I wince internally on how high my voice got.

"Once we get out of this place, we're calling the ambulance," Marie mumbles.

Shelley nods.

Marie finishes up the bandages.

"Thank you," Shelley whispers.

"No problem."

"Feeling better?" I ask.

"Yes, actually." She stands straighter and walks a few steps. Marie and I get ready to catch her if she falls. She's still limping heavily but it's better.

"Yeah, I feel better now," She smiles.

"Yeah, sure you do." Marie mutters sarcastically. "Don't push yourself Shelley."

Marie goes to the door to get the two boys.

Shelley turns to me. "Hey, Briella. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, fine. Why?" I ask.

"Oh, um," She hesitates, "I heard you screaming earlier. So I just thought…"

"You heard me?"

"Yeah. Briella what's wrong?," Shelley looks straight at me. "Where's Erin? Did you guys not find him yet?" Her voice is kind and gentle. I can feel the tears coming. I open my mouth to answer but I find myself unable to. I stand there tears blurring my vision. Shelley limps right next to me and starts soothing me.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Briella. I didn't mean to upset you." Shelley comforts gingerly.

With those words I begin sobbing. I cover my mouth with my hands. Shelley lightly pats my shoulder. When I don't stop she hugs me. Shelley's one act of friendship makes me feel better. Her body is cold, but her hug sends warmth through my body.

"It's okay to cry now." Shelley soothes. I take her advice. Burying my face into her shoulders, I weep.

"Don't worry," She comforts, "We'll find Erin and then get out of here. All of us."

Oh, if only she knew.

* * *

Is is just me or is the format just awful? I mean, where did my organized paragraphs go?! Anyway, I've been trying everything now but haven't been able to fix this problem. So I'm just going to post the chapter now. Hopefully you enjoy! :) Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	28. Chapter 28

Chapter 28

*Marie's point of view

We stand right next to Erin's corpse, surrounding his body. Joel and I went around the whole bathroom looking for the rest of his limbs. I had to swallow down the bile that was collecting in my throat. I'm sure Joel had to do the same. After all, we were touching our friend's decapitated limbs. We found them easily and arranged the parts where they are supposed to be. I commend Briella's courage but she couldn't help crying after about a minute. I pat her shoulder. I know this is hard on everyone, especially Briella. We stay silent with the exception of Briella's held-in cries. None of us still believes this is real. This is our reality. Shelley stands right in between Joel and Briella in complete silence. She's awfully quiet. She hasn't said or done a single thing. I had expected her to scream or gag when she saw the body but instead she went curiously to the corpse. She gasped when she recognized the face. That's it. There was no scream, no gag, no tears, just a gasp. Now we all stand together mourning.

The shuffling of contents broke the small silence. I look over to see Shelley searching through her backpack. All eyes are on her. She continues looking until she pulls out a small beautiful blue stone. She steps toward Erin's empty body and lays it on top of his heart.

"I'm sorry, my friend. May you rest in peace. Cross over safely and be happy. You will never leave our thoughts, Erin. Thank you," Shelley mutters something else under her breath then bows.

Briella cries even louder at Shelley's eulogy. Her words seems to make it even more real. He's really gone. Looking down at Erin's cut up body I am filled with more determination. No one else will die. We will get out of here.

-*Briella's point of view

I wipe my face trying to take the stickiness out. My dried tears have left a trail on my filthy face. Right now, we all are gathered at the library. After talking about what to do we decided to talk at the archives to explain some things. We felt like it was the safest place.

"So, this Sachiko girl helped you?" Joel asks Marie.

"Yup," was Marie's simple answer.

"Thank you," I sniffle.

"Thank me? For what?"

"For coming back. You didn't have to."

"Of course I did. I'm not abandoning you guys here."

"Yes, thank you Marie," Shelley smiles.

"Yeah thanks Marie." both boys say at the same time.

"Wait, why did she save you?" Lenny questions.

"I have no idea. I wasn't here first choice though." Marie tells.

"Who was here first choice?"

"Wouldn't that mean there's more people here?!" Joel exclaims.

"I don't know. She said something about a witch though," Marie answers.

At the corner of my eye, I could have sworn Shelley jumped a little at the mention of a witch.

"Witch?" Lenny asks fearfully.

"I'm hoping she was joking. Anyway, that doesn't matter." Lenny gets ready to retort back. "I found a way to get out of here." Those words stop Lenny from saying anything.

"What?!" the boys shout together.

"Sachiko told me how a group of students escaped here. We just need to do the charm backwards," Marie explains to us the steps.

"That's seriously all we have to do?" Joel responded in awe.

"That's it."

"Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's get out of this hellhole!" Lenny starts walking to the door.

"Yeah, there's a problem. It might not work."

"What do you mean it might not work?" Joel's face turns serious at that statement.

"Sachiko told me there's a shield around this whole dimension that keeps people in and people out. We first need to weaken the shield if we want to get out otherwise the charm will be useless."

"Great. How the fuck are we supposed to do that?" Lenny snaps.

"I thought we can read something in here that might be useful," Marie answers glaring at him.

I pick up a book from the floor. "You do know that the books are in Japanese, right?"

"Shouldn't be a problem for Joel. He's half Japanese half Korean," Lenny states.

"Just because I'm half Japanese and half Korean, I can all of a sudden speak both languages? That's racist."

"Please, I've heard you speak a different language."

"Doesn't mean it's Japanese!"

"Can you or can you not?" Marie interrupts.

Joel sighs, "Yeah."

"You can read the books for us then," I say.

"Read the books?!" He turns to see all the shelves against the walls filled from top to bottom with books. "All of them?!"

"Of course not all of them! We'll be stuck here forever if you do!" Marie snaps.

"Well, how am I going to find the information? It'll take a while to find it with only me."

Marie rolls her eyes and picks up a book. She starts reading. The words are unrecognizable, weird sounding to me. When she finishes she looks straight at Joel who's gaping at her.

"You know Japanese?" Joel asks.

"Yup," Marie starts speaking again the other language. Joel excitedly speaks back the same language with ease. We watch as the talk easily with each other.

"Um... any idea what they're saying?" I whisper to Shelley and Lenny.

Lenny shakes his head, "Not a clue."

"Joel is asking Marie how she learned Japanese," Shelley explains.

We both stare at her. "How did you know that?" I ask.

"My mom's friend taught my brother and me." Shelley takes a hesitant step to our two conversing friend. She starts to speak the same words. Her words are thick making it harder to understand what she's saying. Not that I can understand though. All three start to talk in what now I'm assuming is Japanese.

Lenny clears his throat loudly, "Um, hello! Two people over here that has absolutely no damn clue what the hell you're saying."

Shelley smiles apologetically, "Sorry."

"We were just talking about how we each learned Japanese," Joel says.

"That's great. But we have something to do," I kindly remind.

"Right. Shelley, you know how to read Kanji?" Marie asks.

"Only a little," She answers.

"Good enough. Joel you take that shelve," Marie points at the back, "Shelley, you take that shelve," She points to the shelf near the door, "And I'll take this shelve. You two watch the door. Tell us if something's coming."

"Got it!" Lenny and I went to the door for the patrol while the three others read the books at their respective shelves.

* * *

Chapter 28 is finally out! (for what seems like a million years) This chapter is coming a tad late. Sorry. I wonder if they will find anything in the archives? Do you? Well, you can find out in the next chapter. Thanks for reading! Until next time...

 _-P.V.J._


	29. Chapter 29

Chapter 29

After twenty minutes Marie calls everyone back together.

"Okay, who wants to start?" She looks between the two expectedly.

"I'll go," Joel announces. "So the whole bookshelf was about this elementary school called Heavenly Host."

"That's this school right?" I ask.

"Right. Apparently, there was three children who were killed and another one who got out alive. There was also a school legend saying something about a teacher dying from a fall. She haunts the school now."

"She might be someone to look out for," Marie comments.

"That's basically it. Oh, and the murder of the children was a teacher. He hung himself after the deaths."

"Right after?" Lenny asks.

"No, just a few days."

"That's it?" Marie asks. Joel nods.

"Okay," Marie continues, "Shelley do you want to go?"

"You can go ahead," She says.

"Well, my shelf was actually different. It was about some hospital. I think the best translation I can say is the Amare Patriarcha Crucis Hospital." She looks up at Joel.

"Do you have any idea why it's talking about two different places?"

"It might be one of the buildings outside," Shelley inputs.

"Outside?" Joel wonders.

"Um... yeah. There's two other buildings outside the entrance."

"You're kidding right?" Lenny whines. Shelley shakes her head.

"How do you know?" Joel asks.

"I woke up outside." Shelley tells us.

"Wait! What's outside?! Is there anyway out?" Lenny questions excitedly.

"Even if we were to get out of this building, there's no escape. The buildings are surrounded by forests. It doesn't seem to end."

"You're probably right," Marie continues, "A woman and child was killed in the hospital. There was also something about ghost therapy, but I couldn't find anything more on that."

"Was there a picture of the building?" Shelley asks.

"No."

"Oh, okay."

Marie motions for Shelley to go.

"The books on the shelve all talked about some Insane Asylum," Shelley starts.

"Insane Asylum!" Lenny shrieks.

She nods. "According to the records there was a mass murder there."

"What do you mean?" Joel asks uneasily.

"Everyone in the asylum was killed."

"Everyone?" I squeak.

"Yes. Patients, doctors, guards. Everyone. The killer was one of the patients. He was killed by the police. That's all I could understand. Sorry."

"No need to apologize. You did great," Marie says.

"You guys didn't really find anything," Lenny states.

"Nothing that can help us, at least," Joel adds.

"Well, we need to get out of here. Let's just do the charm and if it doesn't work we'll try contacting Sachiko," Marie says.

"What... what if Sachiko's lying?" Shelley asks hesitantly.

"Yeah, how do you know she's telling the truth?" Lenny agreed.

"She saved my life," Marie hisses, "What else do you need?!"

"It could be a trick." I say.

"Well, do you guys have a better idea?" She snaps. None of us answers. "This is the best shot we have."

Joel sighs, "Yeah, okay."

"It can't hurt to try," I add.

Shaking his head Lenny says, "I swear, if that girl's lying you ain't hearin' the end of it."

"Oh, I know you swear. Don't need to be told." Marie snides.

Joel snorts while Shelley and I giggle.

"Yeah, I fucking cuss. And you damn not stopping me."

"Guys. We should focus," Shelley gets Marie and Lenny's attention.

"Right. I think we should try going outside," Marie suggests, "It's safer in an open place."

"And not to mention all the killer stuff around here," Joel says.

"You guys okay with that?"

No one seems to mind.

"Are you okay walking, Shelley?" I ask.

"Hhm, oh I'm fine," Shelley smiles.

"Well, I'll stay next to you just in case," Joel offers.

"Well..."

"Don't push yourself Shelley," Marie reminds.

With that Marie walks out of the room. We follow behind. Joel stays by Shelley's side faithfully, making sure she doesn't fall. She's limping heavily still but she's able to keep up. We go downstairs, turn a corner and...

I gasp in fear. Three children stand just across the hallway. The thing is they aren't alive. Blue auras surround all of them. One was missing an eyeball, blood is spilling from another's abdomen, and the last had no head. They look at us with curiosity. We all freeze where we are. For a few seconds we held our breaths, waiting to see what they did. They each smile, a little creepy smile, and then...out of nowhere they produced scissors each rusted with blood.

"RUN!" Marie screams. We all run down the hall just as they start to come toward us.

* * *

Chapter 29! Did anyone get the reference? And what exactly are those other two buildings outside? Well, at the moment the group has another problem to face. Think they'll get out of this? Find out in the next update! Until next time...

\- _P.V.J._


	30. Chapter 30

Chapter 30

*Marie's POV

I'm the first to sprint down the hall.

"WHAT...!?" I hear Lenny scream at me but his voice cuts off.

The pounding behind me tells that everyone is keeping up. The children are running towards us but they're pretty slow. They are kids after all. If we can just sprint past and get downstairs we might have a chance to escape them.

My heart beats faster as we get closer. I struggle to keep my breathing even. We're only inches apart, centimeters...

I swerve around them and get past them.

"Woohoo!" Lenny yells. I glance behind me to see Briella and Lenny make it past safely. Joel and Shelley are about to pass them. It happens so quickly.

"AAAAHHHHH!" Joel screams. I halt quickly almost falling from the sudden stop. I turn around and see the little boy next to Joel stab him with his rusty scissors. I watch in horror as blood spreads out quickly. The boy pulls out the scissor from his arm and moves to stab Joel's heart.

The situation clicks in my head. Before I can make a move Shelley reaches into her pocket and throws something at the ghosts. "Phasmatis Praesidium!"

Whatever she threw explodes in blue dust surrounding the ghosts. They scream and wave their hands around to disperse the blue powder. With them distracted Shelley grabs Joel and drags him around the ghosts.

I push the shock and confusion away. "Come on!"

I run downstairs knowing that they will follow behind. Opening the first door I see, I wait for everyone to get in. Lenny and Joel run in followed by Briella and Shelley. I slam the door shut immediately.

"What the hell, Marie! You could have gotten us fucking killed!" Lenny screams.

"Well what did you want to do?! If we went back upstairs we're screwed! There's nowhere to run or hide up there! We had no choice! Now stop yelling and help me drag those desks here!" I shout.

With Lenny's help, we quickly bring the desks over to the door. Everyone catches their breath. Briella is trying to calm her fast breathing, Lenny is cursing again, Shelley looks likes she's seconds away from passing out, and Joel is gritting his teeth in pain while Shelley tries to tend him.

I go over to Shelley and Joel. "Shelley, why don't you rest? You don't look so good."

She chuckles nervously, "Well, if I rest I'm not sure I'll be able to stay awake."

"Why don't you just talk to Briella, try calming her down." She glances worriedly at Joel, nods, and limps her way to Briella. Before she could go, I gently tap her shoulder to get her attention. I want to ask her what she did back there, how she did it. But something stops me. An ominous feeling drifts over my body.

"Don't push yourself," I say instead.

She gives me her gentle smile, then limps to Briella. I lose my chance to ask her.

Shaking my head I focus my attention at Joel. He's shaking terribly, the pain obvious on his face. Blood leaks out of the wound fast. The cut is so deep I could see Joel's bone through the opening.

"How bad is it?" Joel whines. Tears are slowly dripping down his cheeks.

"Not as bad as Shelley's," I answer. I grab the extra cloth from my pocket and beginning wrapping the wound. "The bandage won't stop the bleeding, but it will slow it down enough so it isn't life threatening." I finish with the bandages. "How do you feel?"

"Other than being stuck in a haunted school and stabbed in the arm, pretty good."

I roll my eyes. If he's able to joke about this then he's fine.

The door bangs. The room turns silent. We wait for something to happen, anything. Briella screams as the banging picks up. Little children's laughter ring along with the banging. Lenny cusses even more now. Joel and I share a look. His blue eyes ask the same question we're all asking. 'Are we all going to die?' Joel gets up, hissing in pain. "I'm gonna calm down Lenny. Maybe they'll go away if we stay here long enough."

"Not like we're going anywhere," I retort.

He shrugs and walks to Lenny.

I puff out, stress close to overcoming my mind.

"Hey, Marie?" I look over at Shelley.

"Yeah."

"Can you do me a favor?" Her eyes are pleading, but at the same time there is something hiding underneath her black irises.

"What?" I ask cautiously.

Shelley flips her backpack and takes out a book, if that's what you call it. It's more like a tome.

"How do you.."

"Can you give this to my brother? It's important."

"Why don't you give it to him?"

She doesn't answer. Just stares at me, begging me silently.

"Please. Just in case."

"It's not going to happen. You're not going to die. We're all making it out of here."

She doesn't say anything. Her black eyes held something back. They seem to pop out against her deathly pale skin.

"Please. You're the only one that knows where I live."

I look at her. Really look at her. Ever since we found her, I've felt like something was off. Something's changed about her, but I can't tell what.

I sigh, "Okay. I'll hold it. But you're giving to your brother."

I take the book from her. She smiles happily at me.

"Thank you! Thank you so much," She hugs me. She hugs me like it'll be the last. I tightly wrap my arms around her scarred body. I've always been good at keeping my emotions at bay, but right now I can feel the prick of tears.

"Thank you. All of you," Shelley says as she lets go. Looking up I notice that everyone was looking at us.

Shelley continues, "I've always been known for being kind of weird, but you guys were my friends nonetheless. Thank you for staying with me. For filling my sad life with happiness. Thank you."

A single tear falls from her cheek.

Briella sniffs, "Shelley, you're making me cry." She comes over and hugs her.

"You're a great friend too, Shelley. You know we're here for you," Joel says softly. He joins both girls and hugs them.

"You guys are too serious. Relax. I swear you're acting like you're getting ready for a funeral," Lenny whines. "Move over, I want to join in." They all laugh as Lenny squishes himself between Briella and Joel. I roll my eyes. "Jeez, you guys are really something." Briella makes space for me. We all hug tightly. "We'll make it out together. No matter what."

"Yeah! We'll be alright. We have to be." Briella cheers. I smile at her. I know this must have been the hardest for her.

They continue to hit the door with all their strength, chanting 'come out, we'll get you.'

"How long are we going to be here?" Joel mutters, his worry mixing in with his pain.

"It better be short," Lenny complains.

"It will be," Shelley stands straight with determination. "Whatever you guys do, don't follow me."

Without another word Shelley runs to the door pushing done enough desks for her to get through. I understand what she's doing a split second after she opens the door.

"SHELLEY, NOOOO!"

The door shuts behind her. The children's footsteps resound throughout the hallway as they chase Shelley.

I run to the door and knock the remaining desks away. There was no way Shelley could out run them in her condition. Not for long at least. I need to get to her before... I open the door and start to sprint after the children's demented laughs. I only make it a few steps when a strong pair of arms capture me. "LENNY! LET ME GO!"

"No! I'm not letting you die too! Plus if we all go now we're all dead!"

"So you're just going to let her go and get killed?! Let me go, you fucking asshole!"

He covers my mouth. "Do you want to waste her sacrifice? Shelley did that so we can live. You can't just waste her sacrifice."

I'm shaking so hard my teeth is chattering. I hate it when he's right. I hate what just happened. I hate this! I struggle against him. He only holds me tighter. I stop and hang my head low, defeated. Whimpers make it out of my mouth without my consent. Lenny doesn't let go of me. His body is warm against mine. Behind him Briella and Joel stare in shock. It doesn't take long for Briella to break down crying. Joel turns away from the now silent corridor Shelley had disappeared to. We stay there, woeing over our friend.

* * *

Oh, boy. I bet some of you saw this coming. But, maybe there's a chance that Shelley somehow did survive. You'll have to find out in the next update. Until next time...

\- _P.V.J._


	31. Chapter 31

Chapter 31

*Briella's POV

"Shelley!" Joel's voice echoes in the empty hallway.

"Shelley!" Marie screams even louder. The desperation in her voice is unusual compared to her no nonsense attitude. She carries a huge old, dark book with her.

I stay quiet, the tears never ending. It's all my fault. That fact keeps on repeating in my head. Erin and now Shelley. They died because they wanted to save us. They gave up their lives so that we might have ours. I cover my mouth to keep the sobs in. I didn't want to distract my remaining friends from finding Shelley. There is still a tiny light of hope that Shelley did survive, that she somehow found a way to hide.

We continue walking, all of them calling for Shelley while I stay quiet. We reach the stairs going to the first floor.

"Hey, look," Joel whispers. Looking where he's pointing at I see the fresh blood dotting the floor near the stairs. It leads downstairs.

"Come on," Marie says. We dash down the stairs, the red specks on the ground leading us. Eventually the trail turns cold when the blood mixes in with other red blood.

"God, I fucking hate this place," Lenny growls.

"Which way should we go?" Joel asks.

As they discuss what we should do next, I look around for anything that might help us find the trail. A few feet away a backpack sits abandoned. I walk over to the backpack to see if it is what I thought it is. I already know it's Shelley's backpack from afar. The old brown cloth is dyed in red. Her stuff must be ruined. Looking closer I see a piece of paper, drenched in her blood. I peel the paper off and read what it says. My whole body freezes at the words. It's almost illegible, but I definitely know the handwriting. I turn to my friends to tell them.

"How can you say that?!" Marie hisses.

"I'm just saying! The chances of us finding Shelley or of her actually surviving is pretty damn slim. We need to move on and get the fuck out of here," Lenny argues.

I watch puzzled as Marie and Lenny fight.

"I'm not leaving this place until I know where she is."

"Marie, we need to get out of here. I can't take this shit anymore! We stay here any longer and we're all going to die!"

"Is that all you can think about, yourself?!"

"I'm thinking about about all of us! We can't all die here!" Lenny yells, "Look, Marie. Shelley was our friend and it's hard to leave her behind. But what she did for us back there was her sacrifice for us. We can't waste it."

Before Marie can counter I gather the courage to speak up. "I found her backpack" I say loudly. The words register to them and they're next to me in seconds. I give Marie the bloodied note. She scrunches her eyes to read. The note falls from her hands. She's staring at her hands, her hazel eyes filled with shock.

Joel picks the note up and reads it aloud. "Leave me. Escape."

A silence falls upon all of us.

"I guess we can't do anything," Joel's voice shakes with the same hopelessness I feel.

No one says anything for a while.

"I'm sorry." I whisper. I can feel their eyes on me. "It's all my fault. I should have never suggested doing the charm. I should have just stopped. I'm so sorry!" I wail. I can't stop crying. It's my fault. Every single thing. We're stuck here because of me. Shelley's dead because of me. Erin….. I should have been the one to die.

"ERIN!" I scream his name. I want him next to me. His gentle smile, his caring attitude. I want him back. "ERIN!" I want my best friends back. I want my true love back. But, I'll never see him again. I'll never feel his warmth. I wail and scream his name in this never ending torture. Marie cooes into my ears. She tries to soothe my pain even after what I've done. I wail on as my friends comfort me.

*Marie's POV

We trudge slowly downstairs unable to really accept any of this. We lost Erin and now Shelley. I keep my gaze straight ahead and my face emotionless, but in the inside I want to cry. As we walk we look for Shelley, but we already know… there is no hope.

"I'm sorry about your friend."

I stop in my tracks at the familiar voice. Briella shrieks when she sees her while Lenny and Joel push us behind them.

"What do you want?" Joel asks in her native tongue.

I circle around them, "Kon'nichiwa, Sachiko-san."

"Eeeeh?! Are you the one who saved Marie?" Joel asks. He's still speaking in Japanese.

"Dude," Lenny whines.

"What?" Joel asks in English.

"ENGLISH!"

"Okay, jeez!"

Sachiko hums as she stares at Joel. She suddenly floats up and goes right behind him. Joel turns to see Sachiko right at his face. He screams and backs up, tripping on the way. Luckily, Lenny caught him before he can hit the floor.

"You look familiar," She says innocently. She floats up to his face again.

"Um, a little space please?" Joel asks politely. She backs away.

"I've seen you before," Sachiko declares.

"No, you haven't."

"What's your name?"

"Um, Marie?" Lenny hisses.

I glare at him, "She says she's seen Joel before. But Joel doesn't know her."

"Why would she know him?" Lenny asks.

I shrug.

"I guess I'm wrong. But, I swear, you really look familiar. Oh, well," Sachiko sighs.

"Is there something you wanted to warn us about?" I ask easily switching from English to Japanese.

"Yes" She has a serious expression, "I'm going to try opennig a hole in the closed space so when you guys do the charm you'll be able to get out."

"What do you mean?"

"This dimension is surrounding with some kind of shield. That's why this place is inescapable. But, I can try to open a hole for you and your friends so you can pass through."

"So, we need a hole in the barrier to get out."

"Bingo. I'll open it up for you. So you don't have to worry about it."

"Didn't you tell me your power is limited?"

"I did. But I'm sure I can open it for a little while. Once I opened it the school bells will start ringing. You need to get out of this building when it does and do the charm in reverse correctly."

"Wait, what happens if we don't get outside and do the charm?"

"By the ninth bell, if you haven't successfully done the charm you would be stuck here forever."

I don't say anything. Joel who was quietly translating for Lenny and Briella is quiet to.

"What? What she say?" Lenny shakes Joel.

"She said by the ninth toll if we haven't done the charm we're all stuck here forever."

Lenny pales, "Oh hell no. I ain't staying here."

"Then we have to do the charm correctly."

"Then we'll be home," Briella whispers. Her words resonate deep within us. Home. We'll finally be safe. How long ago was it when we all just hanged out, Joel and Lenny making fun of white girls, Erin and Briella holding hands, Shelley trailing behind a small smile on her face? We didn't have a care in the world. It was only hours ago, but feels like a millennium.

"Arigatou gozaimasu," Joel bows to Sachiko in gratitude.

"It's nothing," She responds. "I'm really sorry about your friend. I really thought she would make it."

"Arigatou gozaimasu," I bow to her.

"Arigatou, Sachiko," Briella copies us and bows deeply.

Lenny bows, "Arigatou."

I look at her as she stares at us, a look of baffled confusion on her face. Then she smiles, tears in her eyes. "I have done nothing compared to the sins I made. If this will redeem me from this hell than I will continue to help souls like you until I am free," She waves at us. "Goodbye! Stay safe!"

I watch in my peripheral as her tiny frame disappears to nothing. We all look up. As expected, she isn't there anymore.

"Oh my God," Joel heaves, "I thought was going to piss myself."

I scrunch my nose in disgust.

"Ew," Lenny mumbles.

"I think actually I have to go," Joel says embarrassed.

Lenny turns to his best friend, "Bruh."

"You can go when we get outside," I snap.

"What? Pee outside? No thanks."

"Then don't complain."

"Should we go now or…" Briella pauses.

"Or?" I ask.

"Or should we look for Shelley?"

"We can't look for her now. We're almost out of here," Lenny rationalizes.

"But…"

"We should look quickly before we go outside," I suggest.

"Yeah, we should. We might find her," Joel agrees.

Briella looks away. I glare at Lenny waiting for him to concede.

"Fine. We'll quickly look," Lenny gives in.

I start walking, leading everyone onward.

* * *

Looks like their almost out. I wonder if they'll find Shelley... Thanks for reading! Seriously, thank you. Until next time :)

- _P.V.J._


	32. Chapter 32

Chapter 32

*Briella's POV

I hang back from my friends as they call out for Shelley. There is no hope she's alive. I just have a feeling. As we continue searching I pray that we won't find her. At this point, if we found her she would be a corpse. I… I wouldn't be able to see her corpse, just like Erin. I clench my teeth and dig my dirty fingernails to keep the sobs and tears inside. No one notices as they walk on.

"Ugh! How fucking long have we've been walking?" Lenny complains.

"We're looking for Shelley so stop whining. Joel!" Marie barks.

Joel almost screams out of fright, "What?"

"If you need to go that bad, man up and go somewhere in the corner or something."

"I don't need to go that badly."

"Really. You've been doing that weird dance people do when they need to go the bathroom."

"I'm fine."

Marie rolls her eyes. "Fine whatever."

I smile slightly at Marie's bossiness. She would always boss around Lenny and Joel. Then Shelley and I would distract her while Erin led them to safety. That old memory turns bitter when I realize there isn't going to be anymore memories like that. Because…

"Briella, you okay?"

I look up and meet Marie's hazel eyes. She might have looked tough on the outside but her eyes seemed to hold a little of her true feelings. Despair, sadness, hope, they are all present. But she hides it well.

"I'm fine."

She searches my face. "Okay, just tell me when you feel tired."

I try to smile at her. We continue to search. As we walk I turn around and around again. At the back of my mind, there was a feeling of dread. I keep on glancing around us, but there's nothing there. The feeling just builds up, though.

"Do you guys feel that?"

"Feel what?" Lenny asks.

"Like... there's something wrong?"

"Yeah, I feel it," Joel whispers. He had gotten quiet. He looks around uneasily. Taking a deep breath he steps forward. "If you're watching, you're not scaring us. Why don't you face us, you coward!"

"What the fuck are you doing?!" Lenny hisses loudly.

"What does it look like?"

"You know you're not supposed to taunt a ghost! Have you not seen any horror movies?!"

He doesn't answer. We wait silently.

"Well, guess there's no one there. Let's go now. We looked all over this place. We're not going to find her," Lenny says.

"We should have at least found her body," Marie counters. I wince at that thought. Shelley's body ruined, her face all full of cuts.

"What else can we do?"

Marie stays silent. Lenny gently takes her hand and leads her towards the exit. He motions for us to follow.

"You okay?" I ask when Joel doesn't move to follow.

"I don't know. I could have sworn…" he shakes his head. "Never mind let's just go."

We exit the area. A heavy atmosphere fills the air. It's even creepier than it was earlier. I can tell that everyone could feel it. They're all glancing around, as if looking for some kind of danger. I just can't get that feeling out. Slowly, the dread was replaced with the feeling of being watched.

"Okay, it's not just me right? Right?" Lenny asked as he frantically turned from side to side.

Marie nods, "Something's not right."

"Let's just get out of here as quickly as we can," Joel mutters.

That's when I hear it. I freeze at the spot. Everyone else has stopped too.

"Did you hear that?" Joel's voice stammers wildly.

Slowly we turn around. I had to cover my mouth to keep from screaming. Hiding in the shadows, a ghost watches us with black filled eyes. Black straight, almost oily hair covers its face. Other than its eyes I can't see any other part of its body. Looking closely at it, I see that its eyes are actually cut wide open, blood spilling out freely as if it is crying. I stand as still as I can. I'm shaking all over. I feel Joel's hand tug softly on my arm, pulling me slowly away from the ghost. The floor creaks beneath our feet. It screams, a painful enraged screech. Blood flows out of its mouth. I couldn't contain my scream this time. It comes toward us, hiding itself in the dark. I'm pulled forward and the running begins.

It's impossible to know how far away the thing is. There isn't any sound that indicates where it is. But I know it's there. Its presence is suffocating, all the wrong vibes mixed together. Joel had pushed me forward so that I am next to Marie while he and Lenny take the back. We turn the corner entering the hallway that would lead us to the entrance, our freedom.

Lenny shrieks, "It's gaining on us!"

We all push forward, putting all our energy into sprinting. I hear something, a horrifying squish. I turn around… and see Lenny, a knife puncturing through his heart.

"LENNY!" Joel screams.

He looks at us. "Run. Run while you still can." He coughs, a spray of blood coming out, and his body stiffens, his dark brown eyes turn empty, his wavy black hair falling to cover it. He falls with a thud.

Joel lets out a sob. He stumbles back, his body trembling. A hand comes out of the darkness. Cuts run through it's white pale hand. It takes out the red knife from Lenny's empty corpse. I hear a choked noise from the shadows, possibly meant to be a laugh. The hand disappears but its presence doesn't.

I gasp. My body feels frozen and cold. I can't believe...he was just warning us second ago. And yet...he's...

"This can't be happening," Marie whispers. Her face is frigid in a frightened expression.

"NO! Lenny…!" Joel sobs. He's body is trembling from his cries.

We're all knocked out of our feet as an earthquake rocks the whole building. We all scream as debris and glass fall near us. It groans. Slowly the suffocating air it brought disappears.

"Jesus, how long is this going to last!" Marie shouts.

DONG! A bell rings around the entire school.

* * *

Okay, finally posted it. Sorry for the long absence. I've been sick for a while so I wasn't able to post. But I'm back and with a new horrifying chapter. Hopefully, this chapter was fulfilling. Thanks for reading! :) Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


	33. Chapter 33

Chapter 33

"The bell!" Marie and Joel say at the same time. I remember Joel's translations. The bell, it just rang. Meaning…

"We need to go! Now!" Marie yells.

"But…" Joel looks at Lenny, his blood spreading quickly.

 _DONG!_ The bell rings a second time.

"Leave."

I look at my two friends to see if they heard it.

"Who said that?!" Marie screams.

"Leave. Now. Hurry. Come on, guys," The voice is soft, but clear. There is a hint of desperation in the familiar voice.

"Lenny?" I ask to no one. I turn towards Lenny's body. There's nothing except for a faint blue glow floating almost over his body.

 _DONG!_

"Go," his voice is hushed, pained.

"I won't forget you! Ever!" Joel cries.

"We'll come back for you! Promise!" Marie calls out.

I nod my agreement. "I'm sorry," I whisper.

 _DONG!_

Marie shuffles through Shelley's backpack and throws something to Lenny's lifeless body.

"Come on."

She turns and runs not once looking back.

"Let's get out of here," I comfort Joel. He's sobbing loudly. I can tell he's ready to collapse.

 _DONG!_

"We have to go," I continue.

He turns and runs. I follow behind.

The entrance approaches us. Marie is pushing with all her might.

"It won't open," She shouts.

We work together, pushing with all our might. Finally, it bursts open. I shriek as I clumsily fall down to the walkway. The sound of rain hitting the earth is louder outside.

 _DONG!_ The bell blares louder. It's the sixth toll.

Sachiko stands outside of the walkway right in the middle of the three buildings. She glances at us and yells something indecipherable.

"Okay! Everyone take out your pieces!" Marie yells over the downpour.

We quickly take out the pieces of the ripped doll.

"Briella, take it from here!"

I wonder why she wants me to tell the instructions. I push the question down and quickly explain, "To do the charm we need to put our pieces together. Then we need to say 'Sachiko, we beg of you' four times. Got it."

They both nod.

 _DONG!_

"On the count of three. Ready?" I ask. Another nod.

I count to three.

"Sachiko, we beg of you," We whisper together. The words feel heavy in my mouth. "Sachiko, we beg of you," We say it louder. It's like all the grief and sorrow we felt is slowly seeping into the chant. "Sachiko, we beg of you!" All the horrors I've seen, my friends I let die, the despair and false hope I felt, every single thought of hatred and agony mix into our words. "SACHIKO, WE BEG OF YOU!" We cry out, hoping our pleas for happiness and another chance is heard somewhere where we can be helped.

A warm light starts to surround us. It's white aurora washes away my fatigue and all the negative emotions jumbled in me. Hope builds up in me. It feels like they are all here, Lenny, Shelley, Erin. It felt like we are all together. For the first time since we did the charm I feel happy. Gripping my paper scrap I reach out to my friends. We grasp each other hands as the light envelops us. I can feel their love through our clasped hands. I smile as tears run down my cheeks. Sachiko waves goodbye as the last bell rings. Everything turns white.

* * *

I'm very sorry for the long absence. Lots and lots of stuff happened, but I'm finally back. This is a little rushed though. Look out for the final chapter soon. Like really soon. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! :) Until next time...

\- _P.V.J._


	34. Chapter 34

Chapter 34

Cold air surrounds me. The wind blows making my curls move in front of my face. Rain patters on my window. I shift on my bed, but, something feels wrong. I ignore it, too tired to question it. A crisp drift runs over my skin. I shiver and reach for my blanket. I fumble for the blanket but I'm unable to find it. Reluctantly, I open my eyes. That's when I realize, I'm not home.

The open space of the entrance is empty and dark. The familiar newly renovated pristine staircase spiraled upwards to the second floor.

The moon is high up in the sky. It's night. So, why am I here?

I sit up. "Why am I at school?"

There is a dull throb at my head. I feel like I'm forgetting something very vital. I get up groggily and look out the window. The garage is totally empty. Moonlight shines softly on the granite as the rain gently falls. It's soothing. I take a moment and close my eyes. My mind swims with confusion. I'm definitely forgetting something. I continue to think. And then suddenly I remember.

I look to see Joel and Marie unconscious at my sides. No way…no way that actually happened. It's just a dream, right. A really bad dream.

Marie moans and slowly opens her eyes.

"Hey Marie," I whisper.

She shoots up looking around, her eyes cautious.

"We're back," She's says in disbelief.

"Back?"

"Do you remember a place called Heavenly Host Elementary?"

"Yeah. But, it could have been a dream."

"What's a dream?" Joel asks yawning. He glances around confused and faces us. "What are we doing in school?"

"Joel, do you remember a place called Heavenly Host Elementary?" Marie asks.

Joel thinks then his eyes lights up. "Yeah. I do."

"It could have been a dream. It has to be a dream, right?" I say desperately. It has to be a dream. Otherwise that would mean…

Marie moves her arms. Long scars stretch the front. She touches them gingerly. "I was dragged across the floor. The skin on my arm was peeled right off. Sachiko fixed it, but there were these scars."

"No, but-" I start.

Joel gasps in pain. He cradles his arm; a bloodied cloth is wrapped around it. "If that didn't happen, I sure don't know how this happened," Joel interrupts.

"Our backpacks are still here, just like we left it," Marie adds.

Joel shakes his head and pulls out his phone. He dials a number. Putting the phone to his ear he waits for the person to answer.

"Lenny, didn't answer," he announces.

"There's blood on Shelley's backpack. And Joel, your head," I say.

"Hi, Mrs. Higgins, this is Joel." Joel reaches out to touch the dried blood on his wound as Lenny's mom responds, "Joel Kim?" Pause. "I'm your son's best friend…since kindergarten." Pause. "What do you mean you don't have a son?"

Taking a shaky breath, I open my phone to call Erin. My breath stops in my throat at what I see. My screen saver is a picture of all of us together last year in Universal Studios. The thing is Erin, Shelley, and Lenny's faces are all blacked out. I open my phone and go through my photos. Every single photo containing Erin, Shelley, or Lenny had their faces blacked out.

"Guys," I say close to tears.

I show the photo to them. Marie takes the phone and begins swiping, checking all the photos. Her hands shakes as she passes the phone to Joel. He does the same, his eyes growing wider and wider with each swipe.

"I'm...I'm sorry ma'am. I must have the wrong number." Joel hangs up and stares at the photo. "I remember reading something like this. People who die there are forgotten here. Their photos become ruined so by time any survivor will forget them."

I stand in silence taking it all in. We survived, but they didn't. I can't believe they're just gone.

All of a sudden Marie screams. Agony and despair resonates in that one scream. She collapses, sobbing uncontrollably. Joel is shaking, his body racked with fatigue and grief. He walks over to the base of the stairs and sits down hugging himself, weeping softly. Tears fall down my face again. I crouch down at my knees and cry. Everything that happened, everything we've lost, is just because of some charm I found. It's all my fault. Through watery eyes I look at their backpacks, the last objects that belonged to them. I let my sorrow out in every sob. Why? Why did this have to happen?

The End

* * *

PLEASE READ! VERY IMPORTANT INFO BELOW!

THE END! It has been a long torturous ride, but I loved every single moment of it. I want to thank everyone for reading this story. The reason I continued writing this was because of you guys. Just knowing that people read this lousy excuse of a story made my day. I especially want to give special thanks to Shawn Raven for all the reviews you have given me. Your reviews really helped motivate me to continue. Thank you so much, Shawn Raven! THANK YOU ALL, EVERYONE SINGLE ONE OF YOU! This story turned out to be more than I expected. AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO YOU!

Having that said...this isn't really the end. Not yet at least. I am happy to say that I plan on writing a sequel. There are still a lot of mysteries in this story that haven't been answered. Hopefully, the sequel can explain a little more in detail these mysteries. And who knows, maybe some familiar characters might make an appearance. :) Right now, I am halfway through outlining the sequel. I'm hoping to finish outlining in about a month. After outlining I, of course, will begin writing. To be honest, I don't know how long it will take me to write the whole sequel. It could be a month after I finish the outline or a year. And then there's revisions and more revisions. I have no idea how many times I revised Escaping the Nehan before I got the guts to post it here. A lot, that's for sure. I will try my absolute best to have the sequel asap, but it will take a while. When will you know when the sequel is out? You can follow me. I will give updates every once in a while about my progress in my account. Or if you don't just look out for a fanfic with the name Book of Light by Petrina Van Jay. That will be the name of the sequel. (I know, very original). But it will be better to follow me. ;)

I won't leave you guys without anything though. I will be posting a collection of short stories about the cast of Escaping the Nehan. The stories will include times before the events, their thoughts during the story, and future possible occurrences. If you guys want you even can send me prompts you want me to write about the cast. You can send me any questions you have too. I will surely answer them. I'm excited to continue this road and I hope you guys are too. Thank you again for giving me this opportunity to share this small story! Until next time...

- _P.V.J._


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